In the last few decades, the digital media landscape has expanded rapidly. With the rise of the internet, smartphones other smart devices, and social media, digital media have become an integral part of everyday life. Children and adolescents of the 21st century belong to the first generations that grow up with these technologies. This broad media landscape provides both benefits and disadvantages for young people’s development. However, some children and youth benefit more from media use, whereas others experience more risks. Furthermore, the Covid pandemic painfully revealed inequal opportunities for C&Y to use digital media. There are not only differences in access to digital media, but also in C&Y’s motivation and skills to use them, and in the ways key persons (parents, teachers, and peers) support them. Understanding risk and resilience factors in C&Y’s digital media use related to their cognitive, identity and social development will help them and key persons to act in evidence-informed ways to reduce inequality. A better understanding of these factors is especially important during transition periods such as the transition from kindergarten to primary school or the start in secondary school.
This project is part of the JEDI consortium.
Contacts:
Alexander van Deursen
Sara de Ruyter
Hanneke Scholten
Website: coming soon