Mentors: Rochelle Edmonds, School Counselor, Lanier Elementary School
How does the use of digital tools affect children and contribute to the formation of their social identity? According to Brown (2017), parents should wait until preschool to get their children their own handheld device, although it is implied that young children are using technology well before this (p. 1). Technology is a new, rapidly developing field that researchers are still exploring and trying to understand. In our digital culture, which is “characterized by the relationship between people and technology,” (Kaplan-Berkely & Rochelle, 2019, p.38). children are “digital natives” in this online environment that many parents are just beginning to understand (Kaplan-Berkely & Rochelle, 2019, p. 10). Inspired by the developing technology and children I am surrounded by, I will be exploring how the use of digital tools affects children and contributes to the formation of their social identity. Social identity will be the anthropological lens that aids my research by giving me a deeper understanding of peer culture, play, social interactions, and how these are affected by the digital tools of the 21st century. This study is built on existent bodies of literature and aims to evaluate three main questions: How digital tools influence social interactions, how online social environments affect face to face peer group formation and functioning, and all inclusively, how using digital tools affect the formation of young children’s social identity.
Project Website: https://anowen7002.wixsite.com/technologychildren