Critical Technology Folgen

We all know that the global data economy relies on the ongoing collection, exchange and use of massive amounts of our data – from personal information, to what we do online, to algorithmic forecasts about what we might to do in the future. But what about children’s data? Although there are special laws in place to protect children’s privacy in many regions around the world, huge amounts of their data are still being collected by a growing of devices and applications. In this episode, Dr. Sara Grimes (Director of the KMDI) chats with Dr. Veronica Barassi, Professor in Media and Communication Studies at the University of St. Gallen, in Switzerland, about her research and theories of how childhood itself is being transformed by the production and manipulation of personally identifying digital data. The discussion is focused on key arguments and findings found in Dr. Barassi’s new book, Child Data Citizen: How Tech Companies Are Profiling Us from Before Birth, which outlines key trends contributing to a “datafication” of children and the troubling implications this has for their rights and futures. Type of research discussed in today’s episode: anthropology; ethnography; digital ethnography; communication studies; civic rights and democracy studies.Keywords for today’s episode: data citizen; datafication; data flows; data economies; big data; digital participation; democracy; consent; data justice. For more information and a full transcript of each episode, check out our website: http://kmdi.utoronto.ca/the-critical-technology-podcast/Send questions or comments to: criticaltechpod.kmdi@utoronto.ca

There is incredible diversity in children’s relationships with digital technologies, which introduce a range of opportunities and challenges for their rights, learning, and wellbeing. Kids on the spectrum, however, must also contend with popular stereotypes and misinformation about autism and technology, which impact them in complex ways. In this episode, Dr. Sara Grimes (Director of the KMDI) chats with Dr. Meryl Alper, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Northeastern University Lab, about her ongoing research on the role of media and digital technologies in the lives of disabled children and their families. The discussion is focused on key findings and ideas found in Dr. Alper’s forthcoming book, Kids Across the Spectrums: Growing Up Autistic in the Digital Age, which challenges enduring myths about kids on the spectrum and reveals the cultural, social, and sensorial dimensions of how some of these kids use and relate to media and digital technologies in their everyday lives.Type of research discussed in today’s episode: communications studies; disability studies; children’s studies; science and technology studies (STS); ethnography; qualitative research.Keywords for today’s episode: autism spectrum; sociality; intersectionality; cultural belonging; social repertoires; senses/sensory. For more information and a full transcript of each episode, check out our website: http://kmdi.utoronto.ca/the-critical-technology-podcast/Send questions or comments to: criticaltechpod.kmdi@utoronto.ca

From sourdough starters and "covid gardens," to homemade face masks and Sea Shanty TikToks, the pandemic has inspired a boom in crafting, making, artistic expression, and everyday creativity. In this episode, Dr. Sara Grimes (Director of the KMDI) chats with Dr. David Gauntlett, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Creativity in the School of Creative Industries at Ryerson University (Toronto, ON) and founder of the Creativity Everything Lab, about his research on the creative process, the cultures that emerge around making and sharing creative content, and the benefits of engaging in both hands-on and digital creative activities. The discussion is focused on ideas and themes found in Dr. Gauntlett’s upcoming book, Creativity: Seven Keys to Unlock Your Creative Self, which proposes an expanded and deeply inclusive definition and approach to creativity, which argues that creativity is above all “a thing that you do.”Type of research discussed in today’s episode: practice-based research; creative practice; play studies; media studies; psychology.Keywords for today’s episode: creativity; identity; creative practice; material culture; digital culture; creative professionals; everyday creativity.   For more information, check out our website: http://kmdi.utoronto.ca/the-critical-technology-podcast/Send questions or comments to: criticaltechpod.kmdi@utoronto.ca