Youth digital socialization and their other intervening factors

  • Javier de Rivera University of Vigo
  • Ángel Juan Gordo López Complutense University of Madrid https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4493-2910
  • Albert García-Arnau Complutense University of Madrid
  • Celia Díaz-Catalán Complutense University of Madrid
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/rced.70389
Keywords: digital environments, active mediation, learning strategies, technological affordances, technological appropiations
Agencies: Proyecto Artículo 83 (ref. 171-2017) entre el Centro Reina Sofía sobre Adolescencia y Juventud de la Fundación de Ayuda contra la Drogadicción (CRS de la Fad) y el grupo de investigación Ciber¬somosaguas (2017-2018), investigación dirigida por Ángel Gordo

Abstract

The present article assesses the influence of different social factors on youth digital socialization itineraries and, in particular, on the existence of problematic behaviors related to the level of identification and exposure in digital environments. Firstly, we present a digital socialization model based on previous documentary research (authors, 2018). The model includes three types of factors: (i) the structural variables of "income level" and "education level"; (ii) sociotechnical variables, linked to the design of digital  platforms; and (iii) intervening variables involved in the digital socialization process, such as "active mediation" and "learning styles", which convey dispositions for how youth engage with digital environments. Secondly, we present the results of a multi-panel Delphi study designed to contrast the proposed model of youth digital socialization (authors, 2019). The results suggest that the intervening variables are more relevant than the structural ones in defining youth digital socialization pathways. In the discussion section, we argue  that digital environments open up new possibilities for social differentiation that are relatively in/dependent (or co-dependent) of the level of income and education. Based on the findings, we close the article with three proposals for the design of digital educational agendas.

 

 

Author Biography

Ángel Juan Gordo López, Complutense University of Madrid

Ángel Gordo is co‑director of Teknokultura. Journal of Digital Culture and Social Movements, member of Cibersomosaguas Research Group and the Discourse Unit. He is interested in the relations between social change and technology, material culture and psychologization processes. He is also concerned with alternative ways of food production and consumption.

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Published
2021-04-19
How to Cite
de Rivera, J., Gordo López, Á. J., García-Arnau, A., & Díaz-Catalán, C. (2021). Youth digital socialization and their other intervening factors. Revista Complutense de Educación, 32(3), 415-426. https://doi.org/10.5209/rced.70389
Issue
Vol. 32 No. 3 (2021)
Section
Articles

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