Abstract
The digital environment has the potential to guarantee inclusion in child participation initiatives and decision‐making processes. This chapter looks at findings from a recent research project on child participation in the local area in Spain, and from a participatory diagnosis with children and adolescents from vulnerable neighbourhoods in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. Based on these findings, the authors explore the roles, uses, and specific areas of youth participation in the digital sphere. The results indicate that children and adolescents from vulnerable areas use social networks to communicate, entertain themselves, and share information, but not usually to participate, be socially active, or express active citizenship. The chapter reflects on the need for education to contribute to young people's digital literacy to increase the opportunities for participation and to create diverse, inclusive, and participatory spaces and strategies from a perspective of equity in the digital environment.
TopIntroduction
Active and significant participation of children in decision-making promotes a more equitable and inclusive perspective of action, wherever it takes place. Reference authors in this field (Hart,1992; Pozo, 2014; Novella et al., 2021) defend children’s rights and have written about the importance of child and adolescent (C&A, from now) participation as a way of creating a fairer educational system and developing social and civic skills for more equitable and democratic societies in the future. In this work, we understand child participation as the process by which C&A, individually and/or collectively, express their opinions and decisions in matters that concern them directly and as an expression of the right to take part in collective decision-making, regardless of their origins and circumstances.
In recent years, there has been a proliferation of social organizations and protests led and supported by adolescents and young people expressing their opposition to social and economic inequality and the lack of “real democracy” in various parts of the world; for example, the movement of indignance in Spain (2011), the Arab Spring (2011), Greece (2012), and the Occupy movement (2011), first in the United States and then in other countries. More recently, in 2018, Greta Thunberg addressed the United Nations during the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) in Poland after initiating and leading a school strike in defence of the planet. Millions of students from over 150 countries also participated in this strike, asserting their right to participate as children and adolescents. These are just a few examples of how young people can organize themselves to exercise and demand their right to participate (Ballesté, 2022; Soler-i-Martí et al., 2021).
The combination of online social media and traditional channels has played a key role in these protests. The Internet and social media have had an immense impact on the proliferation of citizen participation channels, which allow citizens to interact with each other and with public representatives based on horizontality and connectivity (Claro et al., 2020). Children and adolescents are contributing to the development of a “participatory culture” mediated by technology, characterized by greater ease of expression and dedicated support for creation and exchange in social connection contexts. Based on these conceptual premises, child participation needs to be consolidated in digital environments. It is necessary to overcome narratives of risk and distrust and promote the potential of technologies to get children and adolescents involved in civic participation in their reference communities and in the public sphere. Children and adolescents use social networks as a source of information on political and social issues and perceive these networks as a fast and useful way to exercise their right to participate (Cho et al., 2020).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Equity: The normative ethical principle associated with the idea of justice; this concept is about meeting the needs and interests of people who are different, especially those who are disadvantaged.
Digital Environment: An integrated communications environment in which digital devices communicate and manage the content and activities contained within it. The concept is based on digital systems that are integrated and implemented for a global community.
Cohesive Society: A society that seeks the well-being of all people, combats exclusion and marginalization, creates a sense of belonging, promotes trust and offers opportunities for social mobility. Hence, social cohesion is key to the development of societies, to political stability and to democracy itself.
Transmedia Competencies: A set of skills related to the production, exchange and consumption of digital interactive media. These competencies range from problem-solving processes in video games to the production and sharing of content on web platforms and social networks; and the creation, production, sharing, and critical consumption of narrative content (fanfiction, fanvids, etc.).
Social Inclusion: A process that guarantees people the opportunities and resources necessary to participate fully in society. At the same time, it seeks to ensure that they enjoy a standard of living and well-being that is considered normal in the country they live in, and that they are active members of the community.
Inclusive Participation: Giving people a voice and presence in social life and in democratic processes that enables social processes and outcomes to be fair.
Child Participation: The process by which children and adolescents, individually and/or collectively, express their opinions and decisions on matters that directly concern them according to their age and maturity.