Growing up Digital: How Today's Youth Navigate Life on Screens and at School

UCL Collaborative Social Science Domain Annual Debate 2024

Ten years ago,  Danah Boyd introduced the concept of ‘networked teens’ to explain how social media expanded youth connectivity. In this talk, Professor Jessica Ringrose introduces the idea of ‘postdigital’ teens, offering a lens to understand how teens’ digital networks intersect with their offline school-based peer dynamics. Drawing from a study on the impact of COVID-19 and social isolation of young people in England, Jessica will explore their experiences of online sexual and gendered risks during and after lockdowns.  She’ll delve into the complexities teens faced with increased screen time during the pandemic and what happened when they returned to school. The talk will explore how mobile phones and devices shape their experiences in school, focusing on tech facilitated gender-based and sexual violence.  The talk concludes with a presentation of a collaborative, co-designed educational intervention, offering recommendations for how schools, parents and communities can better support postdigital teens.

• Our annual debate is sponsored by Sage and also form parts of the 2024 ESRC’s Festival of Social Science (19 October to 9 November).  ‘Digital Lives’ is the theme of this year’s festival
   
• Children’s experiences of social media and unsolicited sexual images: Developing Better Digital Literacy.  Listen to Jessica Ringrose's videogram and podcast interview

Lecturer
Professor Jessica Ringrose
Professor of the Sociology of Gender and Education, Education, Practice & Society, IOE, UCL

Discussants
Professor Sonia Livingstone
Director, Digital Futures for Children, 5Rights and Department of Media and Communications, LSE

Professor Andy Phippen
Professor of IT Ethics and Digital Rights, Bournemouth University

Dr Lucia Gloria Vazquez Rodriguez
Lecturer in Digital Media Production, Knowledge Lab, Culture, Communication & Media, IOE, UCL

Chair
Professor Carey Jewitt (Chair, Collaborative Social Science Domain / Knowledge Lab, IOE, UCL)

Drinks reception
8-9pm
Room 05, 188 Tottenham Court Road