Children and Young People’s Digital Lifeworlds

“A significant and timely work, providing insights into a Global South context while exploring the complex interplay of domestication, mediation, and agency of children and youth…More than just a case study, this book’s greatest potential is that it actively advances and builds theory in the field.” – Tanja Bosch, Professor, University of Cape Town, South Africa “Chikezie Uzuegbunam’s methodologically and theoretically rich book probes, beyond platforms, the prospects and pullbacks of children and young people's digital realities…. Uniquely, it should be praised for its powerful epistemic pedigree.” – Bruce Mutsvairo, Professor, Utrecht University, Netherlands “Chikezie Uzuegbunam has empirically, theoretically, methodologically and analytically put together a tour de force…A must read for anyone interested in understanding the complex, messy and unpredictable ways young Nigerians (and by extension Africans) engage with digital technologies in everyday life.” – Admire Mare, Associate Professor, University of Johannesburg, South Africa This book explores the ways in which adolescents in Nigeria domesticate technology and the role of digital gatekeepers such as parents, guardians, and teachers in their digital lifeworlds. Using a child-centred framework, what emerges is a rounded and textured analysis of how technology fits into pivotal aspects of the lives of teenagers. Here, teens are understood as ‘actors’ rather than just users of media and technology. The digital lifeworlds of young people in advanced economies of the Minority World are well researched. In contrast, research focusing on pre-teens’ and teenagers’ digital practices and participation in Majority World such as Africa, is still fundamentally narrow. The book is relevant to fields like sociology, media studies, youth studies, mobile media studies, African studies, and global media studies. Chikezie E. Uzuegbunam teaches media studies and is the MA programme coordinator in the School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University, South Africa. He holds a PhD in Media Studies from the University of Cape Town, and publishes around digital media, young people and technology, communication studies, AI, and misinformation.