Screen Children and the Boundaries of Digital Childhood

Beskrivelse

In an increasingly digitalized society, children’s everyday lives are shaped by complex networks of human and non-human actors. This paper explores how institutional actors such as ministries, NGOs, researchers, and student organizations construct and regulate children's digital practices through policies, recommendations, and educational frameworks. Drawing on Science and Technology Studies (STS), the concepts of generalized symmetry and performance are used to analyze how children and technologies co-create meaning and agency in educational contexts. The article introduces the figure of the screen child as a hybrid actor formed through political discourse and technological mediation. Three patterns are identified: dichotomies (for example, screen versus non-screen, digital versus analog), double roles (adults as both regulators and uncertain guides), and inclusion ambitions (children’s desire for co-creation and ownership). These patterns reveal how boundaries are drawn around children’s digital lives, often without their active involvement, resulting in reduced agency and limited pedagogical possibilities. The paper argues for a shift from regulation to relation, where children are not merely subjects of control but co-learners and co- creators in shaping digital futures. By rethinking boundaries through performative and symmetrical lenses, the study highlights the need for inclusive, context-sensitive approaches to digital education that empower children to navigate and negotiate their technological realities. This contribution invites a redefinition of childhood boundaries in digital contexts and calls for ethical, methodological, and conceptual reconsiderations in childhood studies.

Periode	6 maj 2026 → 8 maj 2026
Begivenhedstitel	XI Conference on Childhood Studies
Begivenhedstype	Konference
Konferencenummer	XI
Placering	Joensuu, FinlandVis på kort
Grad af anerkendelse	International