Digital generations, but not as we know them

Fortunati, Leopoldina; Taipale, Sakari; Luca, Federico de

doi:10.1177/1354856517692309

Cited by 43 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, a woman described using the Zombie Run app on her phone as part of her morning dog walk exercise routine, and a couple expecting their first child had negotiated flexible working from home arrangements so that the young father could care for the baby in the early evenings. Our finding that it is young adults, rather than teenagers, who are at the forefront of new technology use echoes that of a study of the adoption of communications technologies by different age groups in Europe between 1996 and 2009 (Fortunati et al., ).…”

Section: Household Social Practices and It Usesupporting

confidence: 82%

Unsustainable trajectories of domestic information technology use in Australia: Exploring diversity and the life course

Lane

Follett

Lindsay

2018

Geographical Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Current trajectories of the proliferation and use of information technology (IT) in households present an example of rapid socio‐technical change in an unsustainable direction. We document patterns in the proliferation, use and accumulation of IT in households in Australia, drawing on data from an online national survey (N = 1,475) and qualitative interviews conducted during 2015 and 2016 (N = 36, with participants from three cities and one regional town). We identified cohorts of IT users who shared specific use practices and found that age, life course and income were important for defining and understanding these cohorts. IT practices change with life course transitions, such as children moving through the education system. Practices may be linked with changes in residence and income, and provide opportunities for interventions at such times when both technology and its use are changing anyway. The most concerning development was the use of multiple devices simultaneously, particularly when this included live streaming of high‐resolution video and audio. This practice is increasing in households with teenagers and young adults, and is likely, if unchecked, to become a significant driver of energy demand. We conclude by reflecting on the implications of our findings for (1) influencing current unsustainable trajectories of IT use into the future and (2) conceptualising the agency of householders in socio‐technical change involving fast‐changing technologies. There is an increasing research focus on the multiplicity of transition pathways, but a focus on the life course can, we argue, bring a new and important dimension to this understanding.

show abstract

Section: Household Social Practices and It Usesupporting

confidence: 82%

Unsustainable trajectories of domestic information technology use in Australia: Exploring diversity and the life course

Lane

Follett

Lindsay

2018

Geographical Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Birth cohorts are made up of individuals born in the same year, with those within the cohort moving through the life course simultaneously and encountering the same socio-historical events at the same ages (Gentile et al 2013;Yang 2008). We conceptualize cohorts as 'age cohorts that come to have social significance by virtue of constituting itself within a social, cultural, and political identity' (Fortunati et al 2019). Increasingly, many researchers have questioned the cultural and academic tendency to group all of today's youth into a single coherent digital generation (e.g.…”

Section: Digital Generations and Cohort Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging Digital Generations? Impacts of Child Digital Use on Mental and Socioemotional Well-Being across Two Cohorts in Ireland, 2007–2018

Bohnert

Gracia

2020

Child Ind Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite the growing body of literature on how digital technologies impact child wellbeing, previous research has provided little evidence on recent digital trends. This paper examines the patterns and effects of digital use on child socioemotional well-being across two cohorts of children grown up ten years apart during the 'digital age': the 1998 cohort (interviewed in 2007/08) and the 2008 cohort (interviewed in 2017/18). Multivariate linear regression models were conducted for these two cohorts from the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study, a multicohort longitudinal study with rich comparable data on a large sample of 9-year olds (N = 13,203). Results show that (i) in 2017/18 children were more active in digital devices and social media, while in 2007/2008 children spent more time watching TV and adopted less diversified forms of media engagement; (ii) spending more than 3 daily hours on TV/digital activities was associated with significant declines in child socioemotional well-being, while such effects were stronger in 2017/18 than in 2007/08; (iii) media engagement (but not other forms of digital engagement) was associated with moderate declines in socioemotional well-being, both in 2007/08 and in 2017/18; (iv) while children's media and digital engagement differed by the child gender and socioeconomic background, none of these variables moderated the effects of digital use on children's socioemotional well-being, neither in 2007/08 nor in 2017/18. Overall, the study reveals persistence, but also some important changes, in recent trends on children's digital use and its impact on socioemotional wellbeing in Ireland.

show abstract

“…Birth cohorts are made up of individuals born in the same year, with those within the cohort moving through the life course simultaneously and encountering the same socio-historical events at the same ages (Gentile et al, 2013;Yang, 2007). We conceptualize cohorts as 'age cohorts that come to have social significance by virtue of constituting itself within a social, cultural, and political identity' (Fortunati et al 2019). Increasingly, many researchers have questioned the cultural and academic tendency to group all of today's youth into a single coherent digital generation (e.g.…”

Section: Digital Generations and Cohort Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does digital engagement influence child mental and socioemotional well-being? Evidence across two Irish cohorts, 2007 – 2018

Bohnert¹,

Gracia²

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite the growing body of literature on how digital technologies impact child well-being, previous research has provided little evidence on recent digital trends. This paper examines the patterns and effects of digital use on child socioemotional well-being across two cohorts of children grown up ten years apart during the ‘digital age’: the 1998 cohort (interviewed in 2007/08) and the 2008 cohort (interviewed in 2017/18). Multivariate linear regression models were conducted for these two cohorts from the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study, a multi-cohort longitudinal study with rich comparable data on a large sample of 9-year olds (N = 13,203). Results show that (i) in 2017/18 children were more active in digital devices and social media, while in 2007/2008 children spent more time watching TV and adopted less diversified forms of media engagement; (ii) spending more than 3 daily hours on TV/digital activities was associated with significant declines in child socioemotional well-being, while such effects were stronger in 2017/18 than in 2007/08; (iii) media engagement (but not other forms of digital engagement) was associated with moderate declines in socioemotional well-being, both in 2007/08 and in 2017/18; (iv) while children’s media and digital engagement differed by the child gender and socioeconomic background, none of these variables moderated the effects of digital use on children’s socioemotional well-being, neither in 2007/08 nor in 2017/18. Overall, the study reveals persistence, but also some important changes, in recent trends on children’s digital use and its impact on socioemotional well-being in Ireland.

show abstract

Digital generations, but not as we know them

Cited by 43 publications

References 36 publications

Unsustainable trajectories of domestic information technology use in Australia: Exploring diversity and the life course

Unsustainable trajectories of domestic information technology use in Australia: Exploring diversity and the life course

Emerging Digital Generations? Impacts of Child Digital Use on Mental and Socioemotional Well-Being across Two Cohorts in Ireland, 2007–2018

Does digital engagement influence child mental and socioemotional well-being? Evidence across two Irish cohorts, 2007 – 2018

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About