Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV: Online Meanness and Cruelty
Date:
21 Feb 2023
Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) is Canada’s longest running and most comprehensive research study on young people’s attitudes, behaviours and opinions regarding the internet, technology and digital media. The study is currently in its fourth phase and this fourth report – Online Meanness and Cruelty – is the first of two reports focusing on relationships and technology. This report highlights how often and where youth experience, witness, and engage in online cruelty as well as the reasons or motivations for their engagement. In the report, we also summarize findings related to how young people respond to online meanness and cruelty and from whom they seek support in navigating these harmful experiences.
Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV: Online Privacy and Consent
Date:
20 Jan 2023
Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) is Canada’s longest running and most comprehensive research study on young people’s attitudes, behaviours and opinions regarding the internet, technology and digital media. The study is currently in its fourth phase and this third report – Online Privacy and Consent – highlights findings related to how youth share and protect their personal information online and how they manage their identities in online spaces; how youth do or do not engage in various privacy practices like reading terms of service or using privacy settings; how youth feel about various forms of interpersonal and corporate surveillance online; and how various rules and practices in the home and between adults and youth can impact online privacy.
Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV: Encountering Harmful and Discomforting Content Online
Date:
05 Dec 2022
Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) is Canada’s longest-running and most comprehensive research study on young people’s attitudes, behaviours and opinions regarding the internet, technology and digital media. The study is currently in its fourth phase and this second report – Encountering Harmful and Discomforting Content Online – highlights findings related to how often youth come across harmful and discomforting content, including racist and sexist content and pornography, in which online spaces they most often see it, and how they tend to respond to it. For more information, please see the key points and takeaways available here.
Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV: Life Online
Date:
02 Nov 2022
Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) is Canada’s longest-running and most comprehensive research study on young people’s attitudes, behaviours and opinions regarding the internet, technology and digital media. The study is currently in its fourth phase, and Life Online is the first in a series of reports that summarize the findings from the survey. This first report – Life Online – provides a glimpse into the online lives of young Canadians and highlights findings related to device use, online activities, screen time, technology in the classroom, household rules, and how young people feel about unplugging and going offline occasionally. For more information, please see the key points and takeaways available here.
Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) is Canada’s longest-running and most comprehensive research study on young people’s attitudes, behaviours and opinions regarding the internet, technology and digital media. This extended research methods report offers a deeper dive into the decisions and processes undertaken by the MediaSmarts research team during Phase IV of YCWW. The various pivots and adaptations taken during this phase deserve elaboration and will be of interest to other researchers who have made, and continue to make, shifts in their work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
From Access to Engagement: Building a Digital Media Literacy Strategy for Canada
Date:
27 Apr 2022
In February 2022, MediaSmarts hosted a symposium that brought together key stakeholders and community partners from across Canada who share an interest in developing and implementing a national digital media literacy strategy. This report summarizes the discussions that took place at the symposium along with key findings from an environmental scan of existing national and international digital media literacy strategies. For more information please see the key points and takeaways available here.
Algorithmic Awareness: Conversations with Young Canadians about Artificial Intelligence and Privacy
Date:
31 Mar 2021
MediaSmarts conducted focus groups with youth ages 13 to 17 to gain insight into how young Canadians understand the relationships between artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms, privacy, and data protection. Participants played a game prototype designed by MediaSmarts’ education team, and a scaffolded learning experience allowed for in-depth discussion after each of the three phases of gameplay. These conversations highlight that while youth understand and appreciate the benefits of recommendation algorithms, they are troubled by algorithmic data collection and data sharing practices. This research is a call for more algorithmic literacy tools and resources that will give youth the knowledge they need to protect themselves and their information in digital spaces. For more information please see the key points and takeaways available here.
Young Canadians Speak Out: A Qualitative Research Project on Privacy and Consent
Date:
31 Mar 2020
MediaSmarts conducted focus groups with young Canadians ages 13 to 16 in Ottawa, giving them the chance to consider, discuss and design ways of obtaining consent online that are clear and meaningful to them. As part of the focus groups, youth were asked to share their thoughts on and experiences with current online consent processes. They were then asked to come up with hand-drawn ‘paper prototypes’ of their ideal privacy policies. The findings, highlighted in the report Young Canadians Speak Out: A Qualitative Research Project on Privacy and Consent, offered creative new ideas on how platforms can improve online consent processes – not just for young people, but for everyone – so Canadians can better understand what they’re agreeing to when it comes to their privacy. For more information please see the key points and takeaways available here.
Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV: Talking to Youth and Parents about Online Resiliency
Date:
27 Jan 2020
MediaSmarts conducted focus groups with youth ages 11 to 17 and their parents to better understand what is working for young people online and what needs to be changed or improved so that young people get the most out of their online experiences and their interactions with digital technology – both at home and in the classroom. Through these conversations we discovered that youth are deeply aware of the pitfalls and benefits of digital technology. This research calls attention to how we might help youth across Canada be more resilient online – with more balance, trust, and support – and forms the foundation for a national survey of students to take place in 2020.
MediaSmarts conducted a survey of 1,000 youth ages 12 to 16 years old to better understand their attitudes and experiences with casual prejudice online; specifically, the motivations and external factors that influence their decisions whether or not to intervene. Study results uncover that youth experiences with online casual prejudice are common yet many youth do not respond because they don’t know what to do to make a difference. This research is a call for more effective interventions that will prepare, engage, and empower youth to push back against hate online. For more information please see the key points and takeaways available here.
Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV: Online Meanness and Cruelty
Date:
21 Feb 2023
Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) is Canada’s longest running and most comprehensive research study on young people’s attitudes, behaviours and opinions regarding the internet, technology and digital media. The study is currently in its fourth phase and this fourth report – Online Meanness and Cruelty – is the first of two reports focusing on relationships and technology. This report highlights how often and where youth experience, witness, and engage in online cruelty as well as the reasons or motivations for their engagement. In the report, we also summarize findings related to how young people respond to online meanness and cruelty and from whom they seek support in navigating these harmful experiences.
Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV: Online Privacy and Consent
Date:
20 Jan 2023
Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) is Canada’s longest running and most comprehensive research study on young people’s attitudes, behaviours and opinions regarding the internet, technology and digital media. The study is currently in its fourth phase and this third report – Online Privacy and Consent – highlights findings related to how youth share and protect their personal information online and how they manage their identities in online spaces; how youth do or do not engage in various privacy practices like reading terms of service or using privacy settings; how youth feel about various forms of interpersonal and corporate surveillance online; and how various rules and practices in the home and between adults and youth can impact online privacy.
Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV: Encountering Harmful and Discomforting Content Online
Date:
05 Dec 2022
Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) is Canada’s longest-running and most comprehensive research study on young people’s attitudes, behaviours and opinions regarding the internet, technology and digital media. The study is currently in its fourth phase and this second report – Encountering Harmful and Discomforting Content Online – highlights findings related to how often youth come across harmful and discomforting content, including racist and sexist content and pornography, in which online spaces they most often see it, and how they tend to respond to it. For more information, please see the key points and takeaways available here.
Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV: Life Online
Date:
02 Nov 2022
Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) is Canada’s longest-running and most comprehensive research study on young people’s attitudes, behaviours and opinions regarding the internet, technology and digital media. The study is currently in its fourth phase, and Life Online is the first in a series of reports that summarize the findings from the survey. This first report – Life Online – provides a glimpse into the online lives of young Canadians and highlights findings related to device use, online activities, screen time, technology in the classroom, household rules, and how young people feel about unplugging and going offline occasionally. For more information, please see the key points and takeaways available here.
Young Canadians in a Wireless World (YCWW) is Canada’s longest-running and most comprehensive research study on young people’s attitudes, behaviours and opinions regarding the internet, technology and digital media. This extended research methods report offers a deeper dive into the decisions and processes undertaken by the MediaSmarts research team during Phase IV of YCWW. The various pivots and adaptations taken during this phase deserve elaboration and will be of interest to other researchers who have made, and continue to make, shifts in their work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV: Talking to Youth and Parents about Online Resiliency
Date:
27 Jan 2020
MediaSmarts conducted focus groups with youth ages 11 to 17 and their parents to better understand what is working for young people online and what needs to be changed or improved so that young people get the most out of their online experiences and their interactions with digital technology – both at home and in the classroom. Through these conversations we discovered that youth are deeply aware of the pitfalls and benefits of digital technology. This research calls attention to how we might help youth across Canada be more resilient online – with more balance, trust, and support – and forms the foundation for a national survey of students to take place in 2020.
Connected to Learn: Teachers’ Experiences with Networked Technologies in the Classroom
Date:
05 Apr 2016
To help understand how networked technologies are impacting teachers and their teaching practices, in 2015 MediaSmarts partnered with the Canadian Teachers’ Federation to survey 4,043 K-12 teachers and school administrators who were teaching in classroom settings across the country. The survey explored the extent to which networked technologies are available in the classroom, the ways teachers are using networked technologies to support learning, the knowledge and skills teachers have developed to make the most of networked technologies as learning tools and creative uses of networked technologies for learning activities.
Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III: Trends and Recommendations
Date:
21 Jan 2015
This is the final report in a series of nine from the Young Canadian in a Wired World: Phase III study. The Trends and Recommendations report brings together the findings from interviews with children, teens, parents and teachers and a national survey of students in grades 4 to 11, which took place between 2012 and 2013. It offers recommendations for parents, teachers and policy makers to support young people in meeting the challenges of growing up in the digital age. It also includes an analysis of students’ top 50 favourite websites and profiles of students’ online activities organized by grade.
Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III: Encountering Racist and Sexist Content Online
Date:
19 Jun 2014
This report is drawn from a national survey of Canadian youth conducted by MediaSmarts in 2013. The classroom-based survey of 5,436 students in grades 4 through 11, in every province and territory, examined the role of networked technologies in young people’s lives. Encountering Racist and Sexist Content Online (the sixth in a series of reports from the survey) looks at how often Canadian youth are exposed to prejudice online, how it makes them feel and how they respond to it.
Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III: Sexuality and Romantic Relationships in the Digital Age
Date:
29 May 2014
This report is drawn from a national survey of Canadian youth conducted by MediaSmarts in 2013. The classroom-based survey of 5,436 students in grades 4 through 11, in every province and territory, examined the role of networked technologies in young people’s lives. Sexuality and Romantic Relationships in the Digital Age (the fifth in a series of reports from the survey) examines issues such as sexting, romantic interactions online, and accessing pornography and information about sexuality.