Internet and Digital Devices in Childhood: Analysis of Twitter Conversations

Abstract

This study aims to analyze human-media interaction, focusing on Twitter users’ perceptions and imaginaries of children’s use of the Internet and digital devices. The concepts of media panic, mediation, and mediatization are the theoretical keystones supporting the discussion. Exploring users’ reactions and representations reveals that mobile communication and social networks are crucial to understanding broader cultural and social transformations. The evolving landscape of the Internet reveals its diverse applications and implications, shaping collective imaginaries and influencing personal and global paradigms. The methodology combines quantitative big data and qualitative analysis, supported by content, thematic, and discourse analysis approaches. The analysis was carried out in several phases: a) big data scraping to contextualize users; b) categorization using the specific software; c) thematic analysis; d) selecting specific examples and providing links to all the posts in the analysis. The results demonstrate different conceptual levels as pathways to approach social media users’ perceptions. First, this study shows that social media plays a relevant role in defining the online space for children. It draws attention to the fact that network differences are also related to characteristics that define social actors. Responses included references to the need for regulation, which we associate with media panic, and alternatives to this attitude through references to social change and mediatization. This study also focused on the role played by the media as agents of social change linked to the concept of mediatization; the elements that contextualize these perspectives can be social actors, digital tools, and social media.