THE DILEMMAS OF DIGITAL METHODOLOGIES: LEARNING FROM WORK ON YOUNG DIGITAL

This article explores common dilemmas facing researchers and practitioners who wish to use digital media in research with children and young people. The article explores both cultural-social-economic and material approaches to digital media. These draw attention to five areas, explored in the article, which raise particular dilemmas and opportunities: networked mobility; interoperability and convergence; corporate involvement; confidentiality, anonymity and privacy; and intellectual property and moral rights. When involving children and young people through digital media, the boundaries between online and offline worlds are increasingly blurred, raising practical and ethical dilemmas. The article concludes that research with children and young people needs to take account of the socio-cultural norms in using digital media and that the tenets of ethical research still apply.