2016-2018
YOMO – Youth Mobilities in Public and Digital Spaces
In this research, we explored how, why, and where young people engage with digital spaces today in terms of social, cultural, digital and global literacies. We asked how digital engagement can be enriched through creative and cultural production. In education, and in social, and civic spaces, digital technologies are being given an ever increasing role of importance. At the same time, initial research shows that digital technologies increasingly play a part in exacerbating achievement gaps and socio-economic divides.
Research story
Working in two post-industrial centres in the Global North–Hamilton, Ontario and Glasgow, Scotland, we work with youth (12-19 years old) and artists in each setting, engaging in highly similar activities.
Our first phase involved building community partnerships, finding artists and recruiting youth. Next we engaged in a two month period of research and artmaking sessions. Finally we engaged in sharing with local, community audiences and academic dissemination. We worked to disrupt qualitative research as usual as we with followed youth interests and collaborated across sites. We were struck by young people’s interest in art materials (and food) and the narrow scope of their digital practices (this was in 2015-2017), the power of play and open-ended time to talk and make. Young people engaged in data analysis, and representations of community and communication.
Explore the website below to learn more about this project.
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Publications:
Collier, D. R. & Perry, M. (2021). Imagining research together and working across divides: Arts- Informed research about young people’s (post) digital lives. Qualitative Research. June 2021. Publication Link
Collier, D. R. & Perry, M. (2020). Digital platforms alone don’t bridge youth divides. Published May 3, 2020, on The Conversation: Publication Link
Perry, M., Collier, D. R. & Rowsell, J. (2019). Reframing the digital in literacy: Youth, arts, and misperceptions. In E. Morrell & J. Rowsell (Eds.). Stories from inequity to justice in literacy education: Confronting digital divides (pp. 71-86). Routledge.
