Education stands at the crossroads, once again, in the emerging and expansive spaces of the "digital age".
The aims of education, according to many thinkers, include the pursuit of knowledge and truth, the development of critical thinking and reflective practice, innovation and/or the cultivation of certain traits or dispositions, training and preparation for the workforce, or more generally, the promotion of active learning and personal development, and so on.
But one can argue that an understanding and pursuit of flourishing in education is no less important, especially in the context of the rapid emergence and acceleration of mass communication, the internet and the World Wide Web, and the global proliferation of virtual communities, virtual environments and digital media. These decisive technological transformations in our time have highlighted not just questions of inclusion, participation and access, of course, they have also brought starkly into view deeply troubling questions concerning the task of education today, and indeed the failure of education to prepare students for a dynamic and rapidly changing, increasingly digitalized world.
It is surely not coincidental, for example, that the Surgeon General in the USA this month warned that while digital (and social) media may be beneficial in some respects, they can (and do) pose serious risks in terms of the mental health and well-being of young learners. He noted, significantly, that the use of such technologies by young people is nearly universal (up to 95%) (https://www.hhs.gov, May 23, 2023). Moreover, the OECD ("How's Life in the Digital Age?" 2019) has also noted more generally the significant risks to well-being such as disinformation, indoctrination, structural inequalities and cyberbullying, among others. And significantly, higher education institutions, in general, do seem to be incorporating social (and digital) media more and more into their marketing, teaching and learning environments, communities, structures and pedagogies, especially in the wake of the global pandemic.
So, education stands now at the crossroads of cyberspace: either it can continue on the same path and become increasingly complicit in the perpetuation of the problem, or it can take a decisive turn before the effects reach catastrophic proportions. It is clear that there is a strong argument to be made that it is time for education, informed, for example, by an ethic of courage, prudence, concern, compassion and care, to examine and address these nascent risks and threats to the well-being and full growth and development of young learners, among others, and to focus on and address clearly and decisively the question of their full flourishing, and the major obstacles to it, in the "digital age". A failure to do this, given the global convergence of information technology, communication, digital media and teaching and learning, may continue to have widespread damaging, effects in education and in communities across the expansive spaces of the "digital age".
This book will examine these significant developments, risks, threats and challenges, and explore timely solutions which promote the full flourishing of young learners, and which will be of benefit to all whose lives have been affected by the epochal and accelerating convergence of education, information, communication, technology and the "digital age".