Anthropomorphizing Technology: A Conceptual Review of Anthropomorphism Research and How it Relates to Children's Engagements with Digital Voice Assistants.

ABSTRACT: 'Anthropomorphism' is a popular term in the literature on human-technology engagements, in general, and child-technology engagements, in particular. But what does it really mean to 'anthropomorphize' something in today's world? This conceptual review article, addressed to researchers interested in anthropomorphism and adjacent areas, reviews contemporary anthropomorphism research, and it offers a critical perspective on how anthropomorphism research relates to today's children who grow up amid increasingly intelligent and omnipresent technologies, particularly digital voice assistants (e.g., Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri). First, the article reviews a comprehensive body of quantitative as well as qualitative anthropomorphism research and considers it within three different research perspec

SUBMITTER: Festerling J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9334403 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature