Digital Literacy and Inclusion in a Digital Society

Prof.dr. Marcel Broersma

Centre for Media and Journalism Studies

VSNU-agenda Digital Society

Research line “Citizenship and Democracy”

Millenniumbug 2.0

Processes of digitalisation and datafication are fundamentally changing society:

• How we find news and information• How we communicate on the personal

level, with institutions in society and with the government

• How (and if) we (can) participate as citizens in democracy

• How our daily lives are organized when it comes to learning, work, health care, business, etc.

• How cultures and identities are shaped

Opportunities and risks

Data and Datafication

• Abundance of digital data offers opportunities for research and societal applications

• .........

Impact of Digitalisation

• Digitalisation can make all kinds of processes in society more efficient and convenient

• ..........

• Who has access to data and is data security guaranteed?

• Are citizens capable of navigating the digital and do they understand the consequences of their online behaviour?

VSNU-research agenda “The Digital Society”

Challenge:

“New digital technologies are being developed very rapidly. Digitalisation and the associated growth of data are affecting all areas of human activity, including politics, work, the economy and healthcare. Society is changing, sometimes for the better but certainly not always. Digital transformations are characterised by similar narratives of promises and fears, but they share complex questions of, for example, participation, responsibility, security, and surveillance.”

https://www.thedigitalsociety.info/

VSNU-research agenda “The Digital Society”

Multi- and Interdisciplinarity:

“These challenges raise issues of power, culture, governance and sociality. To address these issues, computer- and data-scientists need to work together with social scientists and humanities scholars.

In other words, democracy in a digital age is not only of concern to social scientists and humanities scholars; and designing effective algorithms is not the exclusive preserve of computer scientists.

The Digital Society programme is a response to these developments.”

https://www.thedigitalsociety.info/

VSNU-research agenda “The Digital Society”

7 research lines:

• Citizenship and Democracy*• Responsible Data Science• Health and Well-being*• Learning and Education• Work and Organisations• Digital Cities and Communities• Safety and Security

*UoG participation https://www.thedigitalsociety.info/

Akkoord van Groningen

• Partnership between RUG, Hanze Hogeschool, UMCG, Municipality & Province

• 9 themes – 3 research themes• Health

• Energy

• Digital Society

• Two focus areas• Datafication

• Digital Literacy

Digital literacy is a necessary condition for citizenship and inclusion in a digital society

Challenge (Akkoord van Groningen)

“In 2025, Groningen should be the most digital literate city and province of the Netherlands”

Digital Literacy Coalition

• Builds upon existing initiatives and infrastructure:

Groningen as Digital City and DigiDeal

• Network- en project organisation

• Aim: create a “Spiral of Innovation” • Connect concrete societal projects/interventions with research

• Everyone +1

• Develop a research agenda for Digital Literacy

Digital literacy

• “Narrow” definition• Digital skills – teaching people how to handle ICT• Information skills – teaching people how to navigate online data

• “Broader” definition• New/different way of thinking• Understanding the impact of digitalisation and ICT• Research: understanding how people integrate ICT

and media into their everyday lives, and how theybuild understanding of processes/impact/consequences of digitalisation and datafication

Digital literacy

• Societal projects/interventions and education often on the first level (access and skills)• Enlarging skils

• Best practice approach

• Move towards the second level• Citizens: acceptance, insight, trust, confidence

• Research: explore how citizens appropriate the digital,

how they perceive it, and what the effects are

• Research: Inform and validate societal projects/interventions

Project: Growing Up With Media (KIEM grant)

• Collaboration SKSG – Centre for Media and Journalism Studies (Research team: Anna van Cauwenberge, Joëlle Swart, Hanne Stegeman, Lucy Frowijn, Marcel Broersma)

• Ethnographic research at BSO’s (8-12 year olds) in 4 neighbourhoods of Groningen

• RQ’s: • Media literacy: How children build understanding of media• Informed citizenship: How they use media to learn and to develop understanding of

the world• Social capital: How media shape social relations• Privacy: How children deal with issues of online privacy and security

Project: Growing Up With Media (KIEM grant)

• How do media connect various social contexts?• BSO

• Family

• School

• Hobby (sports etc.)

• Online friends

• Which social and contextual variables support or hamper digital literacy?

• Important for SKSG, but also government/BZK, to develop policy and interventions

• Innovative in terms of research

MA Datafication and Digital Literacy