Producing shareables: Mothers’ digital media making with infants

BackgroundIn today's society, a growing body of literature attests to the importance of young children's early digital literacy skills in their home environments and how acquisition of these digital literacy skills relates to their future learning and digital literacy.ObjectivesResearch on young children's digital literacy practices at home was reviewed to explore the positive and negative influences on early learning. This is important due to the children's rapid uptake of online digital technologies over the past decade.MethodsPeer‐reviewed research articles on home digital literacy practices of children (aged 0–8 years old) published between 2010 and 2021 from four education databases were carefully selected based upon pre‐determined criteria and examined using content analysis.Results and ConclusionA high proportion of studies (29 of the 31; 93.5%) demonstrated significant benefits of young children gaining a range of skills, including digital operational, early literacy and language, socio‐emotional, and STEM, through the use of digital technologies at home. Five of the 31 (16.12%) studies reported negative effects of digital technologies in the home context, including distraction, aggressive behaviour, and false self‐confidence. Tablets and smartphone use gained greater momentum in the home context, especially between 2015 and 2021, and there was a positive shift in parental mediation, family involvement, and the children's home digital literacy practices.ImplicationsBy leveraging children's acquisition of digital literacy skills in the home and taking into account the sociocultural context, we can enhance young children's preparation for the future and provide opportunities for skill development across various learning domains.

Since the introduction of Information and Communication Technology in the 1990s globally, Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs) have been experiencing digital transformation in delivering instructions. In Tanzania, HLIs are among the sectors that encountered digital instability in facilitating digital training programs in this technological era. The instructors’ digital training practices are of great concern in the process of achieving the desired students' learning outcomes. This research article, therefore, assesses the Influence of the contemporary instructors’ digital training practices on students' learning outcomes in the selected higher learning institutions in Tanzania. A sample of 237 instructors from two higher learning institutions were selected randomly. A self-administered questionnaire, key informants interview and focus group discussion were employed as data collection tools. The findings indicate a significant influence of instructors’ digital training practices on students' learning outcomes specifically in the key parameters of using digital resources such as laptops, and interactive internet software such as Zoom meetings, emails and websites. The findings imply a more pronounced relationship between the variables, indicating a greater inclination towards advanced digital teaching practices among the instructors in higher learning institutions in Tanzania. It is concluded that the instructor’s digital training practices encompass the use of digital technology in the training/ learning process. However, the instructors’ digital training practices require improvement since the tested variables indicated a weak/low coefficient It is recommended that instructors improve their digital practices for the impactful contribution to their student’s learning outcomes

With the increasing drive towards exploring strengths based and positive discourses in PESP, it is important to explore approaches that can help researchers and practitioners. This has particular relevance for areas such as digital technology where there is a need to appreciate not only the technologies themselves, but also the pedagogical practices that surround their use. Without such discussions, it is difficult to unpick ‘what works’ for practitioners and ‘why’. Furthermore, in our efforts to be critical researchers we continue to recycle deficit accounts of technology. In short, we learn most about the ‘do nots’ and, in the process, struggle to advance change. Running as a counter narrative to the tales of ‘do nots’ is the burgeoning literature of appreciative inquiry. This approach prompted us to ask if it could be used, methodologically, to investigate digital technology and practices with digital devices. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to suggest and illustrate a way in which appreciative inquiry can be used to provide insights into teachers’ use of digital technology. This is achieved by discussing the use of appreciative inquiry before presenting examples from a research study that explored PE teachers’ uses of digital technology. Through the use of a methodological illustration, we suggest that appreciative inquiry is capable of providing a reflective space for practitioners and researchers regarding practices with digital technology. We conclude by arguing that appreciative inquiry is useful in our continued negotiation of digital practices in PESP.

There is a growing body of research looking at young people’s use of digital technology in informal contexts. However, there is a gap in the literature about how to describe and categorise young people’s digital practices in such contexts. This gap is important because in order to be able to understand the differences between young people’s digital practices in informal contexts and how these differences arise, you first need to be able to describe and categorise those differences in meaningful ways. You need to be able to answer the question “How do young people use digital technology in informal contexts?” in order to be able to answer questions such as “How do children’s digital practices in informal contexts vary?” and “Why do children’s digital practices vary?”. This paper is significant because it introduces The Digital Practice Framework, an original, theoretically informed, tool to fill this critical gap in the literature. It goes on to indicate how this framework has been used to analyse the factors that facilitate or hinder the development of young people’s digital practices in informal contexts.

The smartphone has become fundamental in areas, such as leisure, sociability, and intimacy, especially for young people. Its impact has led to growing concerns about its effects, in terms of a potential addictive nature. This article approaches the articulation of abuse and self-regulation practices regarding the smartphone, and the presence of addictive explanations as a framework that links such practices to a culture of addiction. For this purpose, 24 young people (between 18 and 29 years) with different socio-demographic profiles (age, gender, occupation) and levels of problematic use of digital technologies were interviewed. The results show how respondents regulate the constant influx of smartphones into their daily lives with individual strategies that attempt to balance the perceived effects of their digital practices. Their effectiveness is modulated by aspects, such as maturity, personal context, or commitment to other activities. In many cases, their self-perceptions are permeated by popularized discourses of addiction, which coexist with ironic positions regarding their agency facing the technological designs and are aligned with logics of individual responsibility. They also highlight emergent aspects, such as the link between weekend binge or nightly practices of smartphone abuse, with their own personal sphere and self-gratification.

Young children's use of digital technologies has presented challenges for parents, particularly in response to an increased reliance on digital resources during the Covid-19 pandemic. This mixed-methods study explored young children's digital practices within the context of their families and homes. Although this study was originally planned, the timing of data collection meant that it was uniquely positioned to capture parent perspectives as the pandemic and first lockdown was unfolding in Australia. Data was collected through questionnaire (N = 101) and semistructured interview (n = 20) about status and change in children's digital practices, and parents' rules and flexibility in governing these experiences. Quantitative findings suggested children's frequency and duration of digital device use trended upwards during lockdown, and parents were more flexible in their rules about the amount of screen time, as well as when and where children could use digital devices. Qualitative results suggested that, more than a temporary and situational change, for many parents, exposure to new ways of engaging with digital technologies facilitated a shift in their perceptions, leading to greater consideration of quality in their choices for their children. This study highlights the influential role of parents in shaping children's digital experiences. Understanding their perceptions, as well as children's current and shifting digital practices in the home, is important for informing efforts and guidance for supporting young children's safe and effective use of digital technologies.

Background and aimsStudies have demonstrated associations between both problematic smartphone and social networks use with everyday life adversities. However, examination of associations between problematic smartphone use (PSU) and problematic use of specific social networking platforms, especially on item-level data, has received relatively little attention. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to explore how items of problematic smartphone, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram use are associated.Methods949 German-speaking adults participated in a web survey study. The participants were queried about their socio-demographics as well as levels of problematic smartphone, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram use. In addition to bivariate correlation analysis, exploratory graph analysis (EGA), a type of network analysis, was conducted.ResultsThe results showed that while problematic Facebook and Instagram use seem to be distinct phenomena, problematic smartphone and WhatsApp use were heavily intertwined. Furthermore, the only cross-platform symptom observed was the extent of reported pain in wrists and neck due to digital technology use. The EGA network models showed very good stability in bootstrap analyses.Discussion and conclusionsIn general, the results of this study suggest that while Instagram and Facebook use may potentially constitute distinct problematic behaviors, problematic smartphone/WhatsApp use scales may be measuring highly similar or even the same construct.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: The use of digital practices and approaches can potentially increase the quality and efficiency of all phases of the traditional clinical translational research (CTR) process. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe key stakeholders’ perspectives on the need to: (A) formalize training in digital practices and approaches among CTR trainees; and (B) develop an aligned educational framework that defines core competencies, educational methods, and evaluation metrics. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Participants (n=66) were recruited via email from June to November 2017 using purposive and snowball sampling methods across 4 groups: (1) English speaking national and international experts from academic and private sector institutions with working experience in using digital practices and approaches in research (n=36), (2) CTR educators (n=8), (3) CTR trainees (n=13), and (4) Members of the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the University of Southern California (n=9). Online focus groups were conducted using a semi-structured, open-ended interview guide through Google Hangouts and a conference call interface. Sessions were recorded and transcribed verbatim, and 2 research team members performed independent content analyses to identify before and emergent themes using an inductive analytic approach. Kappa was calculated for inter-rater agreement and repeated until agreement was at least 0.70. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Participants’ average age (41.2 yrs, SD 9.26), gender (59% females), non-Hispanic (97%), race (72% White), and doctoral degree (67%). In total, 85% reported experience in teaching digital practices and approaches in research, although 70% were currently not teaching in this field. Participants reported that complementary teaching in digital practices and approaches across the 15 Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) CTR competency areas was relevant, especially in literature review, research implementation, statistical approaches, biomedical informatics, regulatory support, responsible conduct of research, scientific communication, translational teamwork, cross-disciplinary training, leadership, and community engagement; and less so in literature critique, study design, sources of error, and cultural diversity. Additional competencies were identified, for example, online study recruitment, crowdfunding, team and project management, scholarly impact metrics (Altmetrics), ethical and regulatory guidance for conducting research using digital approaches. Five main educational practices were identified including online training sessions, flexible on-demand modules, in-person consultations and training, and project-oriented hands-on workshops. Among the identified challenges were the need for clear metrics in order to evaluate such a training program. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: There was consistent support for a structured program to help CTR trainees to develop competency in digital research practices and approaches. Our results indicate that an education program focused on digital practices and approaches should include a step-wise approach to meet different research and training goals, allowing attendees to increase their awareness and specialized hands-on practical experience.

One main purpose of smartphone use is to be socially connected, and in this sense, older people’s use of this device is no different from that of any other group. Smartphone use among this group is increasingly relevant given the growing number of older adults who lack meaningful social connections. Though the smartphone is permeating older adults’ everyday lives more and more, little is known about how use of this device shapes their sense of social connectedness in everyday life. To fill this gap, we analysed the relationship between smartphone use and perceived social connectedness in Canada, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, focusing on the following research question: What is the role of the smartphone in social connectedness in later life? We used a multi-method approach, tracking smartphone use and conducting an online survey with participants aged 55 to 79. We used the notion of social connectedness, involving three dimensions: Community Connections, Social Engagement and Personal Relationships. We found that reported smartphone use is a better predictor of social connectedness than tracked smartphone use. Also, using the smartphone for co-caring purposes intensified feelings of overall social connectedness, while sharing multimedia content enhanced the social connectedness dimensions of Community Connections and Social Engagement. We conclude with limitations and implications for future research. In sum, the obtained results help in overcoming stereotypical and ageist assumptions about older adults’ digital practices by providing rich, nuanced evidence on the meanings of smartphone-based communication in a sample aged 55 to 79.

Background. Th e use of digital devices and the Internet is an integral feature of modern everyday life, making children’s developmental situation “digitalized”. Th ere are not many papers on the specifi cs, types and content of digital practices of schoolchildren, and questions about what and why children do online are oft en replaced by questions about how this “something” is related to diff erent characteristics of well-being or cognitive and personality traits. Objective. To review recent studies that focus on the practices of schoolchildren in diff erent digital environments and to analyze them in terms of both results and approaches. Methods. Review of the literature on the varieties of digital practices of modern-day schoolchildren. Articles on schoolchildren’ digital and online practices were selected from Scopus database using publication date range (2016 — 2021) and keywords, such as “digital/online behaviour/practices”, “schoolchildren/ adolescents” etc. Th e initial selection was complemented by articles from key psychology and education journals in Russian from the same time span and also by relevant articles cited in the selected literature. Results. When considering the ratio of online and offl ine activities in the life of modern schoolchildren, two main ideas stand out: combining online and offl ine environments into a single hybrid environment, or considering them as complementary and having their own specifi cs. Th e idea of hybridity changes the formulation of the question of the well-being of schoolchildren and the possibility of it being negatively impacted by digital technologies: constant involvement in online contexts ceases to be pathologized and can be viewed as primarily associated with “offl ine needs” and satisfying them in new ways. Methods for characterizing digital practices of schoolchildren are described: based on the kinds of behavior, the type of interaction with the content, the goals of interaction, as well as various ways of managing digital behavior on the part of the school and parents, which can become the basis for the emergence of new forms of digital inequality. Research shows that online environments are well suited to meet the age-related needs of adolescents. Conclusion. Research in recent years has allowed to rethink a number of questions and to demonstrate the irrelevance of some attitudes regarding the use of digital technologies by children, which emphasizes the importance of conducting empirical research aimed at revealing the meaning and content of digital practices, and not limited to quantitative measurements.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an age dependent neurodegenerative disorder with increasing prevalence. Digital technologies like computers and smartphones offer mobile telecommunication, diagnostic and monitoring and may connect the patient continuously with his healthcare team, providing disease related information, and support healthcare. Since the use of these technologies in western civilization is age dependent, possession and usage cannot be regarded as given in PD. In contrast to increasing efforts to implement digital technology into PD patient care, little is known about the use of computers, smartphones, and internet-affinity in PD patients. To evaluate the use of digital technologies in different age groups of PD patients. We developed a questionnaire adapted to the annual German microcensus on "use of digital communication technologies", allowing a comparison to the general population in Germany. 190 PD patients completed the questionnaire. About 75% of PD patients access disease related information on the internet. Patients across all age groups used computers and the internet as frequent or more frequently compared to the German population. Use of computers, smartphones, and the internet in PD was age dependent. Advanced PD patients with higher motor impairment used smartphones less often, while mobile phone usage was not reduced. The adoption of a digital lifestyle is present in the PD population, apart from smartphone usage, which is impaired by motor symptoms. Thus, future healthcare technologies are not hampered by the inability of PD patients to use the necessary tools, however, fine motor-skill requirements have to be acknowledged.

BackgroundTelehealth is an increasingly important component of health care delivery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, well-documented disparities persist in the use of digital technologies.ObjectiveThis study aims to describe smartphone and internet use within a diverse sample, to assess the association of smartphone and internet use with markers of health literacy and health access, and to identify the mediating factors in these relationships.MethodsSurveys were distributed to a targeted sample designed to oversample historically underserved communities from April 2017 to December 2017. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the association of internet and smartphone use with outcomes describing health care access and markers of health literacy for the total cohort and after stratifying by personal history of cancer. Health care access was captured using multiple variables, including the ability to obtain medical care when needed. Markers of health literacy included self-reported confidence in obtaining health information.ResultsOf the 2149 participants, 1319 (61.38%) were women, 655 (30.48%) were non-Hispanic White, and 666 (30.99%) were non-Hispanic Black. The median age was 51 years (IQR 38-65). Most respondents reported using the internet (1921/2149, 89.39%) and owning a smartphone (1800/2149, 83.76%). Compared with the respondents with smartphone or internet access, those without smartphone or internet access were more likely to report that a doctor was their most recent source of health information (344/1800, 19.11% vs 116/349, 33.2% for smartphone and 380/1921, 19.78% vs 80/228, 35.1% for internet, respectively; both P<.001). Internet use was associated with having looked for information on health topics from any source (odds ratio [OR] 3.81, 95% CI 2.53-5.75) and confidence in obtaining health information when needed (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.00-3.34) compared with noninternet users. Smartphone owners had lower odds of being unable to obtain needed medical care (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.40-0.95) than nonsmartphone owners. Among participants with a prior history of cancer, smartphone ownership was significantly associated with higher odds of confidence in ability to obtain needed health information (OR 5.63, 95% CI 1.05-30.23) and lower odds of inability to obtain needed medical care (OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.06-0.47), although these associations were not significant among participants without a prior history of cancer.ConclusionsWe describe widespread use of digital technologies in a community-based cohort, although disparities persist. In this cohort, smartphone ownership was significantly associated with ability to obtain needed medical care, suggesting that the use of smartphone technology may play a role in increasing health care access. Similarly, major illnesses such as cancer have the potential to amplify health engagement. Finally, special emphasis must be placed on reaching patient populations with limited digital access, so these patients are not further disadvantaged in the new age of telehealth.

A common view is that marginalized groups benefit substantially from strategic use of digital technologies. An intersectionality perspective, however, suggests that these outcomes may vary depending on individuals’ social positionality. We propose the concept of “subverted agency” to emphasize that use of digital technologies may be personally empowering but might reinforce normative regimes contributing to sociostructural marginalization. We investigated digital practices of 17 online-soliciting transfeminine sex workers through semi-structured interviews in Singapore, where attitudes toward gender diversity and sex work remain conservative. We highlight three dilemmas of digital media environments, namely, presentation of gender identity and embodiment, intimate relationships characterized by persistent liminality, and competitive pressures related to authenticity of identity. The subverted agency perspective suggests that digital practices do not straightforwardly transform unequal sociostructural conditions; instead, it offers a frame to rethink inclusion by attending to contextual intersections of marginalization.

ABSTRACTIntense public scrutiny of mothering practices continues to perpetuate unhelpful narratives of maternal smartphone use as ‘risky’ and ‘harmful’, positioning mothers to experience guilt and judgement around their smartphone use. Yet despite this, the ubiquity of digital device ownership means mothers are increasingly using smartphones around their infants (birth–12 months). This article presents a single case analysis of a video‐recorded interactional episode between a mother at home with her 3‐month old infant and her smartphone. Fine‐grained analysis shows how mother and infant co‐construct and manage active participation in ‘doing phone use’ while attending to and responding to one another. Attentional and maternal responsivity during smartphone use predominantly has been studied using larger scale, quantitative research designs using social experiments, surveys, self‐reports and interviews. These methods preclude capacity for detailed contextual understandings of what is occurring when mothers use smartphones around their infants in their everyday lives. This study uses visual ethnographic methods of video‐recorded observations of mother‐infant interactions at home during their everyday routines and activities. Using the methodologies of Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis (EMCA), we illustrate how a mother and her 3‐month old infant accomplish moments of mutual attention in the presence of a smartphone. We also illustrate how attention and responsivity is interactionally organised and how the mother displays responsivity even when digital devices are present. Using a qualitative methodological approach offers a reframing that considers the participatory possibilities of maternal smartphone use around infants.

The past two decades have witnessed controversy over whether the use of digital technology has damaged or enhanced adolescents’ social relationships, which influences their development. In this study, we addressed this debate by specifying the effect of different types of smartphone use content on social relationships, rather than simply relying on screen time spent on digital media. To avoid selective analysis and report of different variables, we used specification curve analysis (SCA) in a large dataset (N = 46,018) to explore the correlations between 20 types of smartphone use content and adolescents’ social relationships (parent–child, peer, and teacher–student). The types of smartphone use content were measured by the revised version of Mobile Phone Use Pattern Scale, the Parent-Child Relationship Scale, the Peer Relationship Scale, and the Teacher-Student Relationship Scale assessed three different social relationships, respectively. Of the 20 types of smartphone use content, only playing games (negatively explaining 1% of the variation), taking online courses (positively explaining 1.6% of the variation), using search engines (positively explaining 1.2% of the variation), using a dictionary (positively explaining 1.3% of the variation), and obtaining life information (positively explaining 1.5% of the variation) showed a significant effect size. The association between smartphone use and adolescents’ social relationships depends on the various types of content with which adolescents engage during smartphone use. The various effects of different types of smartphone use content deserve the attention of both the public and policy-makers.