The online world: Not all doom and gloom for young people
The online world has undeniable negative effects. For young people, however, digital tools are also an important means of civic engagement and activism. According to Annamária Neag, an assistant professor at the University of Groningen, we should adopt a nuanced view. 'Technology isn’t inherently good or bad. We need to teach young people to use it critically.'
Text: Jelle Posthuma / Photos: Henk Veenstra
Neag is a researcher at the Groningen Research Centre for Media and Journalism Studies. Her area of expertise is media literacy, defined as the ability to understand, assess, and produce media critically. Her interest in media began early, when she was a child in Romania in the 1990s. 'It was right after the fall of Communism. We went from having a single state-controlled channel broadcasting propaganda to an explosion of national and international channels. That was huge.'
In that sense, her own childhood more or less coincided with the maturation of the Romanian media landscape. 'I remember how we were suddenly able to watch American TV shows. It was useful for learning English, but it also opened the door to different perspectives.' She recalls another ‘media experience’ she had at a young age: 'I can still clearly remember how my grandfather would read the newspaper – often with a lot of grumbling. As a child, I thought, “If he gets that angry, it must be something really important.” It fascinated me even then.'
Climate activists, refugees, and rural youth
As a researcher, Neag focuses on the role of the media in society and how it can bring about change. In particular, she investigates how marginalized groups (such as vulnerable youth) use digital media for activism and societal engagement. Her research has included studies on young climate activists, refugees, and youth in rural areas.
To learn how these marginalized groups navigate the digital world, Neag conducted interviews and ethnographic research. In some instances, the young people she studied were also actively involved in the research. 'For example, we created a Youth Expert Board. During the meetings with members of this board, we discussed our findings and interpretations, and the young people helped us find new participants. This broadened our perspective, largely because the Expert Board challenged some of our conclusions. This participative process is certainly not easy, but it ultimately enhances the richness and validity of the research.'
Young people learn from each other online
Discussions of young people often focus on the negative aspects of the digital world. Neag is nevertheless convinced that this view is quite narrow. While researching young climate activists, she discovered that young people also learn a lot from their digital peers. 'Through Fridays for Future (the movement that emerged from the school strikes for the climate, ed.), they connected with other young people from all over the world and learned many useful skills (for example, how to write a good Instagram post or organize a successful event).'
Her research on the digital media use of young refugees in the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, and the UK has also demonstrated the importance of digital media. 'I saw how they used online media to stay in touch with friends and family. They also used digital tools to better understand Swedish society, and they tried, for example on Facebook, to challenge the way refugees are represented.' In her most recent research, Neag is focusing on young people in rural areas and the ways in which they use digital technology to engage with sustainability issues.
Not a black-and-white issue
Neag is also interested in informal education. 'In chat groups, on Instagram, or in similar spaces, young people learn important skills for the rest of their lives – and they learn them from other young people online.' As demonstrated by her research, older generations often tend to see digital media primarily as a distraction for young people, when it can actually help them become more actively involved in society.
At the same time, however, she has observed that some aspects of the online world can have a negative impact on young climate activists. For example, they may have to cope with online hate messages. She also noted that 'young people spent so much time on their activism that it sometimes even led to burnout.'
Neag acknowledges that the negative consequences of the digital world (for example, on young people’s mental health) are a growing problem. 'It’s not a black-and-white issue: technology isn’t inherently good or bad. More and more countries are imposing age restrictions on smartphones and social media. But when young people manage to bypass these restrictions – as we’re already seeing in Australia – it just happens out of sight. It’s far more important to hold big-tech companies accountable for what they offer – not just to young people, but to adults as well. Otherwise, these bans are nothing more than a quick, often ineffective fix.'
Neag also advocates for educational programmes aimed at making young people ‘critical users’ of social media and digital tools (such as AI). 'But that is very difficult. Teachers already have to keep up with everything, and technological developments take place at lightning speed. Educators are therefore always a step behind. The ability to think critically will help, however, as it can also be applied to new technologies.'
Jantina Tammes School
Many educational initiatives are still fragmented, the Groningen researcher notes. As the new theme coordinator for Digital Literacy and Inclusion at the Jantina Tammes School, Neag is committed to improving this situation. 'This is particularly true for AI in education. My first step is to map out where the expertise lies. I will then work with experts from various disciplines to bring the educational initiatives together.'
This interdisciplinary approach is well suited to her own field of expertise. Media literacy combines a variety of disciplines, including journalism, educational science, and media studies.'‘Interdisciplinarity is sometimes used as a buzzword, but it is a challenge to do it well. Very basic concepts can have completely different meanings within different disciplines. The discussions I’ve had on this with colleagues from other fields have been eye-opening for me. I believe interdisciplinarity can ultimately be truly enriching for our research.'