Overview
Examines how the geography in which youth now develop is increasingly networked, data-generating, and proprietary
Offers readers an interdisciplinary and critical understanding of the ways young people’s techno-social development links up with broader socioeconomic restructuring and how this reciprocity situates them as sensors capable of alerting society when it is mining in toxic environments
Considers commercial social media as both commodities that are consumed over time and across space, as well as productive spaces that facilitate modes of commodification with and on their so-called users
Reveals how involving young people in designing their digital surroundings fosters critical capacities for reworking and resisting the conditions of a rising “rentier society”
Will broadly appeal to scholarly audiences of faculty and students (both graduate and undergraduate) from fields spanning human geography, youth studies, communication and media studies, sociology, qualitative research, and critical design studies
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Table of contents (6 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
Canaries in the Data Mine offers an account of the lived experiences and cultural expectations of young people growing up in digital environments increasingly owned by others and designed for profit. At the book’s core is a participatory research project that first interviewed New York City teens about their digital habits and then engaged a group of five young people in designing the prototypical platform of their time: a social network. In this engaging book, Gregory T. Donovan penetrates beyond the interface to consider the digital geography of contemporary youth, arguing that understanding what young people are grappling with portends what is, or will soon be, felt by society at large. Drawing from in-depth interviews and design workshops, he shows how informational capitalism is reproduced at an intimate scale as well as how involving young people in digital design can foster capacities for reworking and resisting the conditions of a rising rentier society.
Reviews
“If we want to redesign our digital worlds so that they contribute to a more equitable society, we will need not less digital engagement, but more critical awareness about the data and social media infrastructures that increasingly govern our lives. "is book makes a compelling case for how, by partnering with young people, we can increase that awareness to challenge cyberdominance, foster new solidarities, and bring about a better future.” (Lynn Schofield Clark, Ph.D., President of the Association of Internet Researchers and author, Young People and the Future of News)
“The current technological world is predicated on maximum data extraction for profit and control. Nowhere is this more evident than in the alluring digital platforms encompassing, guiding, and shaping youth today. In this sharp and engaging book, Gregory Donovan collaborates with youth researchers to confront these logics and chart an alternative course, one that mobilizes critical design literacy for empowerment.” (Torin Monahan, Professor of Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
“Canaries in the Data Mine is essential reading for anyone navigating the treacherous terrain of digital technology in their everyday lives, which is to say all of us. Provocative and prescient, Donovan offers a lucid account of how the private eyes of technology surveil young people’s intimate lives, while profiting from their hopes, desires and fears. A call to action, Canaries in the Data Mine breaks new ground demystifying the circuits of control, while waking up readers to the possibility of an emancipatory future of critical collective digital engagement.” (Caitlin Cahill, Associate Professor of Urban Geography & Politics, Pratt Institute)
“Canaries in the Data Mine is a uniquely researched book that offers an important and critical reflection on the ways proprietary social media platforms and practices have developed over the past decade. Donovan offers a poignant analysis of how young people’s perspectives can help us to better understand our contemporary moment and prepare for the future.” (Dr. Jacqueline Ryan Vickery, Director of Research, Youth Media Lab, University of North Texas)
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About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Canaries in the Data Mine
Book Subtitle: Understanding the Proprietary Design of Youth Environments
Authors: Gregory T. Donovan
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7289-0
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Singapore
eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-15-7288-3Published: 22 October 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-981-15-7291-3Published: 23 October 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-981-15-7289-0Published: 21 October 2020
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 233
Number of Illustrations: 14 illustrations in colour
Topics: Human Geography, Children, Youth and Family Policy, Science and Technology Studies