Children and adolescents in the digital world: Characteristics, trends and challenges before, during and after the pandemic
RESEARCH CALL FOR TEAMS
Registration closes August 22, 2022
BACKGROUND
The last few decades can be characterized as a period of expansion and deepening of the digital world. Intra- and intergenerational forms of sociability, modes of work and production, educational experiences, and processes of identity formation and subjectivation are all shaped by digital dynamics and information and communication technologies. This is evident both in the growth of digital platforms across various sectors and in the expansion of the use and appropriation of social networks; as well as in the consumption and production of goods, services, languages, values, and ways of being and existing in the world.
In this process of digitizing life, various material and subjective reconfigurations occur that shape the lives of children and adolescents. While these dynamics predate the Covid-19 pandemic, they were amplified, deepened, and accelerated during it, for example, in the educational sphere and in the affective and relational dimensions.
Back in 2017, UNICEF warned that if this expansion of digital technologies is harnessed properly and its accessibility democratized, the digital world can change the situation of children and adolescents who experience various inequalities or discrimination, whether due to poverty, race, ethnicity, gender, disability, displacement, or geographic isolation. However, if this democratization and expansion of access, conditions, and opportunities for using and appropriating digital technology does not occur, new inequalities will be created. Thus, UNICEF warned that if action is not taken soon by public policy, civil society, and the market, the risks of the digital world could make the most vulnerable children more susceptible to exploitation, abuse, and even trafficking, as well as other less obvious but equally detrimental threats and forms of segregation to their well-being (UNICEF, 2017).
This call for proposals aims to explore questions that not only address the risks and dilemmas that children may experience in the digital age, but also to produce knowledge about their productions, the way they socialize and build relationships, the development of their creativity, their participation in these digital spaces; in other words, to understand digital culture.
While it is a polysemous, complex term with diverse definitions, we can understand digital culture, in the terms of Manuel Castells (2009), as the practices, behaviors, actions, languages, and productions that communicate, produce, and are reinterpreted based on a common digital language. Through digital information and communication technologies, digital culture integrates and articulates the local and the global in real time. Ultimately, digital culture generates daily practices, languages, codes, norms, and behaviors that also reproduce or connect with those of the physical, face-to-face, or analog world. Digital culture is the life situation in which children and adolescents are socialized and develop their relationships today.
Based on this, we propose the following questions:
- How is the socialization of children and adolescents through social networks and the use of information and communication technologies?
- What types of uses do they produce? Do they occur in solitude or in the company of others?
- In your experience using social media, did you feel lonely? Did you make new connections?
- Does the use of social media and information and communication technologies facilitate communication? How? With whom? Does it hinder it? Does it generate misunderstandings?
- What types of personal connections are formed on digital social networks? How long do they last? What is the relationship between these connections built in the digital space and face-to-face interactions?
- Do creative uses and knowledge development emerge on social media? Do children and adolescents produce their own content?
- Through what channels and recommendations do they reach the different applications and content?
- Are the uses, appropriations, and contents linked to the school? In what way?
- Are spaces for participation or mobilization generated in digital social networks?
- How is the bond with adults formed?
The proposals to be submitted in this call can be organized around two sub-themes:
1. Digital citizenship, Revisiting some of these questions, which are not intended to be exhaustive or exclusive of other questions that may be proposed:
- What level of creativity do children and adolescents demonstrate regarding the content they receive?
- What problems arose from the use and appropriation of social networks?
- Were there any effects of this predominantly digital sociability on mental health? What were they?
- Do children and adolescents receive training on the use of social networks (media and information literacy)?
- In the digital world, do children and adolescents feel respected? Do they respect others? How are the rules of coexistence established in the virtual space?
2. Access, considering the diverse experiences and existing inequalities in:
- Types of devices that children and adolescents have access to.
- Quantity and variety of devices they can use in their daily lives.
- Connection locations (amenities and conditions for accessing the connection).
- Type and quality of connection.
- Widening or narrowing the digital divide and strategies for guaranteeing digital rights.
Based on the above, the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and Families (SENAF) of the Ministry of Social Development of the Nation and the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) are organizing the following Call for research for teams “Children and adolescents in the digital world: characteristics, trends and challenges before, during and after the pandemic.” The call is aimed at teams from Argentina or those who have Argentina as a study experience, provided that the researcher responsible for the project resides in Argentina.
We are seeking applications from mixed teams of up to 5 people, comprised of researchers with experience in the topics covered by this call for proposals and members of social organizations working on issues related to the digital world and its impact on children and adolescents. Furthermore, we expect that the research will incorporate the perspectives, voices, and experiences of children and adolescents in the most direct and least mediated way possible.
CONTEST RULES
- Applicants must be researchers affiliated with CLACSO Member Centers (which will be certified by a sworn statement) and must also be members of social organizations related to the themes of the call for proposals. If awarded the scholarship, a letter of support signed by the highest authority of both the CLACSO Member Center and the social organization must be submitted.
- Submissions by collective authors of up to five (5) members will be accepted.
- Team composition must respect gender parity and each team must select one member as the project registration representative. This representative must reside in Argentina, be registered for local taxes in accordance with current legislation (which is their sole responsibility), and possess a valid tax invoice to receive the corresponding grant funding. Furthermore, teams are expected to be intergenerational, integrating researchers with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
- The teams (of up to 5 people) will be mixed, made up of researchers with experience in the topics of the call and members of social organizations that work on issues related to the digital world in relation to girls, boys and adolescents.
- Each researcher or research team may only participate with one proposal in this call.
- If the scholarship is awarded and travel is necessary, the winners will be responsible for covering the costs of medical insurance or similar expenses.
Up to five (5) group projects will be recognized, seeking the broadest regional and federal representation of Argentina.
Each winning proposal will receive $900.000 (nine hundred thousand Argentine pesos) as full support for carrying out the committed research.
The team leader will be the one to receive the bank transfers, so they must have a bank account based in Argentina in pesos and issue a valid tax invoice in Argentina for each transfer made.
It is also suggested that the proposal specify the resource contribution that the social organization with which the project is being undertaken will receive. This contribution will be decided jointly with the organization and cannot be less than 15% of the total project budget.
The selected teams will work with the support of tutors assigned by CLACSO, in agreement with SENAF, who will follow the process of their research and results.
CLACSO and SENAF will publish the final products in print and/or digital media, giving them wide publicity and dissemination through the means they deem appropriate. If necessary, researchers will be asked to make the adaptations and adjustments required for the publication of the resulting research.
The authors will transfer the original publication rights of their works, given that CLACSO adheres to and defends the principles of open science and open access to knowledge, so that the resulting work is easy to find, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. Subsequently, the works may be published in any other medium, always citing the grant received. Researchers must inform CLACSO of the subsequent publication of the works resulting from the research undertaken for this call for proposals.
- Research proposals should incorporate the leading roles, voices, and experiences of children and adolescents in the most direct and least mediated way possible. This can be done in the methodology, the problem statement, and the development of the expected results.
- The proposals must address the proposed problems from the realities and experiences of Argentina. Proposals that emphasize regional and/or federal aspects or that articulate more than one region will be considered (NOA: Tucumán, Salta, Jujuy, Catamarca, Santiago del Estero; NEA: Formosa, Misiones, Chaco and Corrientes; Cuyo: La Rioja, San Juan, San Luis and Mendoza; Central: Córdoba, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos; Buenos Aires: CABA and PBA; Patagonia: La Pampa, Río Negro, Neuquén, Chubut, Santa Cruz, Tierra del Fuego).
- The member centers to which the applicants are linked must not have any outstanding debts in the payment of membership fees corresponding to the year 2021, due on June 30 of the same year.
- Completed research projects will not be accepted. Proposals may be linked to ongoing research processes, but the final works must be original and unpublished products and developed within the period established by the call for proposals.
- Members of the Steering Committee or officials of the Executive Secretariat of CLACSO or officials of SENAF may not participate.
- Proposals from researchers who are currently recipients of research grants, fellowships, or research projects organized by CLACSO will not be accepted. Applications from researchers who have previously received a CLACSO research grant will be accepted, provided that the recipient has fulfilled all obligations in a timely manner.
- Texts written in Spanish will be accepted, as the proposals must focus on the Argentine experience.
- In the first stage, the submitted proposals will be reviewed for their formal and administrative aspects to ensure their compliance with the competition rules. Proposals that do not meet the established requirements will be rejected.
- Applications that advance to the next stage are evaluated by an International Committee composed of experts who will assess the quality and relevance of the proposals, which will be submitted under a pseudonym. The members of this Committee will be appointed by CLACSO and SENAF.
- The Call may be declared void or a smaller number of scholarship recipients may be selected, if the proposals submitted do not meet the required quality standards.
- Situations not covered in this document will be resolved by the convening institutions.
- The ruling will be final.
- The research projects will develop their work plan over a period of 10 (ten) consecutive months, starting from the date of publication of the decision. This plan will be implemented under the guidance of tutors assigned by CLACSO.
- The progress and final reports submitted by the scholarship recipients will be evaluated by the tutors.
- The research should address the proposed problems from the realities and experiences of Argentina, considering the federal character and regional representativeness of the proposed study (NOA: Tucumán, Salta, Jujuy, Catamarca, Santiago del Estero; NEA: Formosa, Misiones, Chaco and Corrientes; Cuyo: La Rioja, San Juan, San Luis and Mendoza; Centro: Córdoba, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos; Buenos Aires: CABA and PBA; Patagonia: La Pampa, Río Negro, Neuquén, Chubut, Santa Cruz, Tierra del Fuego).
- In their final version, the research papers submitted as a result should be between 12.000 and 15.000 words in length (excluding appendices and bibliography), written in Times New Roman 12-point font, single-spaced. This is an approximate guideline, and CLACSO reserves the right to make revisions or exceptions if deemed necessary. Furthermore, once the final report has been submitted, CLACSO and SENAF may request that researchers make the necessary adjustments and changes so that the final research papers can be published according to institutional criteria.
- The structure of the text will be free, respecting the conventions of presentation of an academic text and the editorial standards of CLACSO, in addition to APA + GENRE.
- Likewise, each team must submit a Guidelines for Action Document, containing inputs and recommendations for public policies and social intervention on the topics investigated, especially considering the areas of action of SENAF.
- Texts written in Spanish will be accepted since the proposals must be focused on the Argentine experience.
It is mandatory that the submission be made through the online registration system provided by CLACSO. Printed submissions and submissions sent by email will not be accepted. It is recommended to access the online system to review the registration form.
- Access the CLACSO website clacso.org.
- Register in the CLACSO Single Registration System (SUIC). The generated username and password will be required each time you wish to access the system to consult, modify, add, or submit information for this or any other CLACSO activity. Applicants who are part of collective proposals must open a single form This will include all researchers on the team. One of the authors must also be designated as responsible for the registration. This same person will receive the corresponding monetary award if the proposal is selected by the Jury.
- Identify the proposal by indicating its title and the pseudonym of the applicant(s). Applications with pseudonyms that correspond to the applicant's first and/or last name will not be accepted. Once the corresponding fields are completed, the system will enable the uploading of the following data.
- Applicants must complete the sworn statement on the registration form indicating their affiliation with a CLACSO Member Center. The list of member centers can be found at: www.clacso.org.ar/clacso/centros_miembros_clacso/inicio.php.
- Complete the personal and academic data form and attach your resume in free format; a digital copy of your identity document, passport or ID card and a photograph.
- The proposal must be filled out on the form that appears once the personal and academic data has been completed.
- Once registration is closed, the system will produce an electronic certificate of receipt that will serve as proof.
Registration closes: August 22, 2022 (23:59 PM Argentina time)
Report due: September 2022
Project implementation: October 2022 to July 2023
Final report submission: July 29, 2023
The results will be published on the CLACSO and SENAF websites. The winners will be contacted by email.
Queries: [email protected]
Terms and conditions and forms: [link]
OPINION – Children and adolescents in the digital world: Characteristics, trends and challenges before, during and after the pandemic
The Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) and the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and Families (SENAF) of the Ministry of Social Development of the Nation, announce the result of the Call for research teams “Children and adolescents in the digital world: Characteristics, trends and challenges before, during and after the pandemic”.
We thank the entire research community for the positive response to this call for proposals. We received 18 applications which, after the online technical review in accordance with the terms of reference of the call, resulted in a total of 12 Applications eligible for evaluation by the International Committee. The Committee considered the quality, relevance, and coherence of the projects in accordance with the call for proposals.
The evaluation process was carried out by an International Committee composed of 6 expert evaluators of 3 countries: Eliana Pereyra (Argentina), Candida Chevez (El Salvador), Agustina Davenport (Argentina), Carolina Gulisano (Argentina), Roberto Canales (Chile), Diego Beretta (Argentina).
In accordance with the above, the payroll of the 5 projects The winners are as follows:
|
Research team |
CLACSO Member Center |
Social organization |
Title of the project |
|
Ana Pérez Declercq, Maria Rosa Chachagua, Francisco Agustin Sfeir Vazquez, Gabriela Andrea Bercovich, Ricardo Pedro Berral |
Center for Socioeconomic Studies for Development with Equity – CESDE – National University of Jujuy |
New parenting and diverse parenting styles |
Exploratory-descriptive study on the links between experiences in the digital world and the identity processes of trans and non-binary adolescents from the NOA and Patagonia regions during 2022 and 2023 |
|
Maria Victoria Matozo Martinez, Pablo Molina Derteano, Milagros Giménez, Sheila Amado, Marcelo Boyle |
Gino Germani Research Institute – IIGG/UBA – Faculty of Social Sciences – University of Buenos Aires |
Girls in Technology |
Gender digital divide among teenage girls in Córdoba and Buenos Aires |
|
Jaime Piracón, Ariel Benasayag, Valentina Arias, Daniela Zampieri, Inés Dussel |
Research Secretariat – UNIPE |
Center for alternatives and debates in education. Deriva Civil Association/Collective |
Socialization, participation and creativity in digital culture: meanings and practices of children and adolescents with digital media in Formosa, Mendoza and the Province of Buenos Aires. |
|
Silvina Casablancas, Gabriela Raynaudo, Bettina Berlin, Martín Marcoff, María Monserrat Pose |
Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, Argentina – FLACSO – Argentina Program |
Chicos.net Association |
Practices and experiences in building digital citizenship among children aged 6 to 12 |
|
Ileana Desiree Ibañez, Juliana Huergo, Arianna Azul Di Marco, Pablo Daniel Sánchez Ceci, Candela Vallejo |
Center for Research in Journalism and Communication – CIPECO – Faculty of Communication Sciences – National University of Córdoba |
Popular University Barrios de Pie, Córdoba |
Digital experiences of children during and after the pandemic: access, consumption, practices and affectivity in relation to technology |
This ruling is irrevocable and cannot be appealed.
Buenos Aires, October 17, 2022
