Questioning KidTech explores the shift where much of children’s daily lives have moved into online spaces; and in this shifting reality, we ask what it means to be a child in these spaces. We need to understand what these digital spaces are, how they are experienced, and how they are shaping children’s social, cultural and economic lives.
There is an urgent need to fully understand these platforms in order to protect children’s digital rights and support parents/caregivers, educators and policy makers as they navigate the rapid changes in children’s digital lives.
Quick Links
Our project asks the following research questions:
RQ1: What is the Tech in KidTech?
We begin by exploring the commercial economies of KidTech as well as the technological affordances and constraints that shape how children experience the platforms.
RQ 2: What is the Kid in KidTech?
We question what it means to be a child in these spaces. Using a child studies lens, we will explore the ontological questions of “what is a child?” and “what is a childhood?” in the context of these new forms of digital capitalism and the encroachment of digital tech into the lives of young people.
RQ 3: How do children and families experience KidTech?
Our project seeks to understand how families, parents and children negotiate KidTech in their daily lives.
Timeline
Phase 1
Establish the Workings of the Industry
Is a critical insight into the logics and structures of the KidTech industry itself and how it is envisioning and defining the metaverse.
Phase 2
KidTech in the Home
Investigates children’s experiences of KidTech through interview both kids themselves and their parent to consider how KidTech functions in their domestic spaces.
Phase 3
KidTech and Global Childhoods
Addresses how children and families engage with kidTech in a global context.