Researching childhood in a digital age: new book chapter

In the new edition of one of the key methods texts in childhood research – Research with children: Perspectives and practices, edited by Pia Christensen and Allison James – Sonia Livingstone and Alicia Blum-Ross argue that paying attention to the digital reveals a lot about children’s identities and relationships. The previous 2008 edition barely mentioned mobile phones, social networking, online identities or digital games, with researchers implicitly prioritising face-to-face interaction. Yet as children now play, learn, create and interact within digital environments, this raises new ethical and methodological challenges and opportunities for researchers.