Making children more resilient and resourceful in the digital world is the focus of the research led by Esther Rozendaal and her team. In their research, children themselves play the lead role. On 4 October 2024, she gave her inaugural lecture as professor of Digital Resilience.
How do the media influence children? Was it different, say, 25 years ago?
'Just like back then, the media target children with advertisements for toys and unhealthy products. The difference lies in the possibilities offered by social media. Television was a mass medium—impersonal and relatively easy to regulate, for example by banning alcohol ads before a certain time. With social media, that’s impossible. They are constantly on. The format in which information reaches children is also different. Advertisements are embedded within other online content, created by content creators who are paid to promote things that aren’t necessarily beneficial for young consumers. Take all those skincare products, for example. Children form a bond with these influencers; we call it a parasocial relationship. For instance, they might see SpongeBob as a friend. When they watch his videos, they may see SpongeBob-branded biscuits being promoted shortly after.'
You aim to make children more resilient and resourceful. Are they helpless victims?
'Definitely not. It’s surprising how much children already think about these issues. They’re much more aware of the downsides of social media than we adults often realise. I’ve done a lot of research on the impact of advertising, but my current research is much broader. Many children face unwanted contact. We’re all familiar with examples of blackmail and sexting—the unsolicited sharing of sexual content. We’ve spoken to many children from Rotterdam and gave them space to discuss their media use and share experiences freely. What emerged is that they come up with strategies to defend themselves. For example, they might close something because they know the influencer is being paid for it, or they turn to an adult if something unpleasant happens. Some even described situations where they had shown significant resilience. The problem is that children don’t always act on these insights. They often see more advantages than disadvantages, sometimes due to peer pressure or fear of missing out. Moreover, the young brain remains highly susceptible to the stimuli from platforms. It’s a search for the right balance.'
'The online world and the offline world of children are interconnected'
prof.dr. E (Esther) Rozendaal
Professor of Digital Resilience (ESSB)
You conduct participatory research with children.
'We began the research in youth centres in neighbourhoods and in secondary schools. The young people advised us to look at primary schools as well. After all, the average Dutch child receives their first mobile phone in year 6, which gives them access to various apps. At the moment, we’re conducting research with children aged around nine to twelve, in small groups. We’re very open, asking them: ‘What’s your online world like?’ We give them sheets of paper on which they can draw their digital worlds as a kind of mind map. They share them with each other and present them in class. The children are often pleasantly surprised. For the first time, they’re not being asked about their social media behaviour from an adult, risk-driven perspective. For instance, parents never ask, ‘Have you seen anything fun on Instagram?’ We give them the freedom to express themselves, without too much direction. As a result, they’re very open and honest, which yields valuable insights. They come up with action plans to deal with the risks and challenges of their online worlds—things we, as researchers, could never have imagined.'
Do all children use digital media in the same way?
'No, there are significant differences in how children use digital media. Resilience and resourcefulness are strongly influenced by such factors as their home situation. Do they grow up in a wealthy or impoverished environment? Can they share negative online experiences with their parents, or are their parents too busy trying to make ends meet? The online and offline worlds are interconnected: what children experience on the streets often continues online, and what happens online also impacts their experiences offline. We’ve primarily researched schools in the north of Rotterdam, and we may get slightly different results in the south or west of the city. In addition, we’re also conducting research with youth workers and are developing an innovative game. The starting point is always the children’s perspective.'
So what you’re saying is the children’s environment plays a key role.
'The environment is important, but so is the brain. I want to understand what children need to be wise and resilient – or more broadly, what can we do so that their media use benefits their personal well-being? First, we want to identify the factors that determine their resilience and resourcefulness: the child’s brain, parents, the educational system, the industry with its technical platforms and content creators, policies and regulations, and potentially other factors. We want to expose these factors and then investigate how they interact. It’s complex—this is both a societal and behavioural issue—but essential. You can’t expect children to be resilient in an environment that’s not designed to support them. You wouldn’t send a child out into a busy city on a bike without traffic signs or traffic lights. We need all parties involved. Lessons at school aren’t enough.'
'By giving them the space to speak, children come up with action plans that we, as researchers, could never have imagined'
prof.dr. E (Esther) Rozendaal
Professor of Digital Resilience (ESSB)
How does your chair align with the EUR mission of creating positive societal impact?
'Together with Moniek Buijzen, professor of Communication and Behavioural Change at our university, I co-founded the Movez Lab. In this lab, researchers from various disciplines work together, including communication scientists, epidemiologists, computer scientists, educators, and psychologists. What unites us is our interest in digital media, youth, and their well-being. We also have a wide network of external stakeholders, including several ministries. For instance, I’m involved with NICAM, the Netherlands Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media, which provides age recommendations and content information for audiovisual material so that children aren’t exposed to harmful images. Everyone in the Netherlands is familiar with the "Kijkwijzer", a classification system based on international scientific research and public surveys of parents and children.'
'The input from our research, combined with results from previous studies and scientific theories, leads to concrete recommendations—not only at the end of the process, but continuously. Policymakers, and those involved in creating media literacy programmes for schools, benefit from this. We also focus on the platforms and—perhaps most importantly—the children themselves. Among other things, we help them translate their own insights into their own Instagram feeds. In fact, they end up providing advice to each other, which is often more effective than a parent saying, "Be careful!"'
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Esther Rozendaal is professor of Digital Resilience at Erasmus University Rotterdam. On 4 October 2024, she delivered her inaugural lecture, entitled ‘Wise and Resilient in the Online World’. Together with Professor Buijzen, she leads the Erasmus Movez Lab and the platform Bitescience.com. In 2020, she received a VIDI grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).
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