Graduate research explores child digital labour on social media

New research from recent graduate Dr Amanda Aggio examines the phenomenon of child digital labour, particularly on social media platforms.

Her findings show that while they play an important role within the internet's political economy, scarce attention has been paid to young children producing value on social media and the impact of their participation on their lives.

She studied children using social media platforms like YouTube to understand how the platform's business intentions and goals shape the way children watch videos and interact with the application. As part of her research, she interviewed children, parents and teachers. She also observed children using YouTube to explore how the platform influences their feelings and behaviour, both online and offline.

Dr Aggio’s interest in the topic rose from observing her own child's behaviour.

“I witnessed my son's addiction to YouTube and his difficulty disengaging from screens when asked. As a curious human being, I wanted to understand what was capturing his attention and why he was so predisposed to being in front of the screen.”

Dr Aggio’s research is more than just a research topic for theoretical value. Her findings provide insight into a contemporary issue that has practical utility.

“My thesis is not just a theoretical construct, but a practical tool with high applicability in the real world. It is designed to be accessible, with findings that can be easily applied to children’s’ lives.

“The subject matter directly addresses the experiences of parents and teachers dealing with children and their interactions with digital technologies. For instance, one of my findings shows that children not only feel comfortable with YouTube, but they trust the platform and feel like it knows what is best for them.”

Her research demonstrates that children lack the capacity to detect harm online, as well as assisting caregivers in understanding why children behave in certain ways when the subject is YouTube.

Reflecting on her time studying a postgraduate degree, Dr Aggio says she experienced many highs and lows.

“It was a daily exercise of resilience. I came out emotionally and mentally stronger after completing my PhD. My personal experience was harder as English is not my first language. Doing any postgraduate study in your second language is not only about learning grammar and spelling but also immersing yourself in a new culture with different ways of approaching problems and concepts. Even though a PhD can be a challenging journey, I am proud of how I navigated my way through it, and I’m happy with how it propelled my personal growth.”

Since completing her PhD, she’s been working on an article that builds on her existing research, with the ambition to publish later in the year.

In addition to studying, Dr Aggio has been working as a Privacy Advisor for the last three years. She says her research has helped her to understand people’s right to privacy in the digital era and the obstacles in the way.