Generative digital worlds of children and young people

Drawing on a case study of how children and young people use social media for multiple purposes, this talk shares what forms of care and repair are possible in digital geographies. Frequently, children and young people are framed as requiring care in the digital but they are also agents of care, as they use social media to increase their understanding of the world, continue self-care, and care for others. These care-full practices often happen despite limitations of the digital, where creating and supporting care infrastructures is not always a priority of platforms. However, from speaking with children and young people about using TikTokand building communities of solidarity to prompt climate change action (in the context of School Strike 4 Climate), it is clear that social media users do identify opportunities to generate reparative moments. The extent to which forms of repair are possible within sometimes care-less digital spaces may speak to how care is navigated in other potentially fraught contexts.

online event (click to open zoom link)

Moderation & Organizers