Presenting a students’ tale: The smartphone manifesto

Abstract

Smartphones are part of young people's lives from a relatively young age. However, smartphones are often banned in classrooms and parents, teachers, and school authorities still perceive the benefits of smartphones in schools with skepticism, indicating a distrust in young people and their ability to utilise this technology aptly. This article presents a manifesto on smartphones produced by a Danish primary school class when they were in grade nine (15-16 year-old students) and reports on the process of this preparation using data from a videography in a three-year study. The argument presented here questions research practices and shares a project that tries to give agency to young people through intentionality and purpose. The students’ smartphone manifesto details students’ views about the possibilities and problems of using smartphones and shares the participatory methodology of the research project.