🌍More Than Robots #47 / November 2021

Hello,

'A good science fiction story should be able to predict not the automobile but the traffic jam' —  Frederik Pohl

This edition of More Than Robots got delayed in committee.
However, the good news is we have pledged to reduce delays by 1% by 2050!  There will be extra delays whilst we transition to a non-delay world but our pledge is good. In the meantime, here is a bumper edition of upcycled finds that may help improve your digital environment

📖 Research

Digital Youth Index / Nominet
2.1 million young adults are at risk of becoming digital castaways. 49% of 17-19-year-olds feel isolated despite spending more time online

Exploring Safety in the Online Content Journey / Ofcom
'An understanding of the underlying internet infrastructure, not just the platforms and applications with which users directly interact, is necessary to fully manage approaches to online safety

Lockdown and online / Youthworks
Young carers were 5 x more likely than non-vulnerable teens to feel they have lost their friends due to missing
school / See also Digital Wellbeing: A Balancing Act / VoiceBox and Online harms experienced by children and young people / Social Switch Project

The outcomes of gaining digital skills for young people’s lives and wellbeing / LSE
While technical skills were linked with mixed or even negative outcomes, information skills were linked with positive outcomes

Harassment and Positive Social Experiences in Online Games / ADL
60% of 13-17 year olds experienced harassment in online multiplayer games—representing nearly 14 million young gamers

Playful by Design® -  Free play in a digital world / 5 Rights Digital Futures Commission
73% of 6-17 year olds have 'a great time playing ‘in real life’' but only 45% say the same about digital play

📎 Resources

Draw the line
An interactive mobile app where you read stories about real relationships written by teens, highlight the harmful behaviours and compare your view with those of professionals

Thanks in advance
What is the environmental cost of your overflowing inbox and hoarded emails? And practical tips to reduce your email footprint

A toolkit for peer research
Practical guidance for youth sector organisations looking to involve young people in research design and delivery

⚠️ Caution! ⚠️ These emoji mean different things in different countries
A list of emojis that don’t quite mean what you might think

Find your balance: a day in my digital life
A gallery of artworks created by 5-11-year-olds about their digital lives

💬 Inspiration and opinion

When the Clubhouse Doors Close: Discord Opens New Spaces to Create and Connect
'(Re-)building online spaces that are responsive to members’ social and cultural needs takes time. Community leaders must be both open to building on ideas that gain momentum and getting rid of those that don’t'

The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet
'In response to the ads, the tracking, the trolling, the hype, and other predatory behaviors, we’re retreating to our dark forests of the internet, and away from the mainstream' See also: Understanding Online Safety Through Metaphors

Inside the mind of a young person
'Rather than grouping children together according to a clinical diagnosis, the team applied machine learning to identify children with common cognitive problems'

The Metaverse: What It Is, Where to Find it, and Who Will Build It
'Although the full vision for the Metaverse remains hard to define, seemingly fantastical, and decades away, the pieces have started to feel very real. And as always with this sort of change, its arc is as long and unpredictable as its end state is lucrative'



...and finally
If all the stats are making you numb you might want to experience the climate crisis through the medium of Google Street View

🧫 Experiments

The email for this newsletter has changed to morethanrobotsnews@gmail.com. I will also be experimenting with different newsletter systems and a new format for meet ups in the new year. Please let me know any issues, comments or suggestions.

This edition was made possible by those that have gone before