Rights-based critical media education

How do youth perceive digital rights and their impact on youth participation online?

Project Leadership: Kansu Ekin Tanca, BA MAS

Team: Univ. Prof. Dr. Christian Swertz

Duration: ongoing since 2024-11

Funding: University of Vienna

Description

Critical media education (CME) for youth is often promoted for its focus on certain sets of skills that support youth in succeeding in their academic and professional endeavors. Although the usefulness of CME in the job market cannot be disregarded, this focus neglects the rights-based approach to CME and thus fails to consider digital rights and their implications on youth participation online. Digital technologies are facilitating the realisation of human rights to advance (e.g. right to assembly, right to education) while also enabling human rights violations to rise (e.g. right to freedom of expression, right to privacy), disproportionately affecting youth from diverse backgrounds. Growing up with and becoming more and more connected to the online environment, youth are increasingly becoming aware of the structures that contribute to or hinder their participation online.

The research is two-fold. First, it aims to establish stronger links between digital rights and CME by focusing on the rights-based approach. Second, by conducting interviews and engaging with youth through workshops, the research aims to reflect youth perspectives on their understanding of digital rights and how the realisation and violation of these rights based on their experiences affect their participation online.

The findings of this research will reveal the interests and needs of youth in CME and showcase what matters for youth vis-à-vis digital rights to further develop approaches to rights-based CME. It will also benefit stakeholders in shaping relevant policies targeting the fulfillment of digital rights for youth. The workshop manual and material will also be made available upon completion of the research to allow educators/trainers to use it at various settings to foster critical reflection on digital rights with, for and by youth.