Doctoral defence: Marit Napp „The communicative construction of families: emerging trends in the age of deep mediatisation“

On 29 August at 13:00 Marit Napp will defend her doctoral thesis „The communicative construction of families: emerging trends in the age of deep mediatisation“ for obtaining the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in Media and Communication).

Supervisors:
Professor Andra Siibak, University of Tartu
Professor Veronika Kalmus, University of Tartu

Opponent: Professor Cristina Ponte, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal)

Summary

Nowadays, families are increasingly surrounded by the media, including various technological devices and environments mediating communication. However, today's media are more than just a means of communication – they also serve as tools for real-time data collection about the people who use them. This data collection poses an issue for the privacy and rights of children and parents, as their media consumption is subject to widespread commercial surveillance that frequently occurs without their awareness. The recent wave of digitalisation and datafication has therefore ushered us into a new era of deep mediatisation, where media technologies are intertwined with our everyday lives. The doctoral thesis "The communicative construction of families: emerging trends in the age of deep mediatisation" aims to understand how families are changing alongside technology and what the consequences are of this change. To achieve this goal, the thesis relies on a Q methodological study and interviews conducted with both children and parents, as well as a pan-European survey called EU Kids Online. The results of the thesis show that the media is causing a significant transformation of family life: through digital technologies, it is possible to “do family” even when dispersed across space and time. There is also an increasing expectation for parents to use digital tools, such as tracking apps. These technologies add to traditional parenting duties. Although digital technologies have the potential to empower and include, they can also intensify pre-existing power dynamics between parents and children. This is exemplified by the use of tracking apps, which parents may not discuss with their children. Furthermore, parents often consider privacy issues as unimportant or incomprehensible to children. However, privacy related discussions in families play a significant role in how children learn to manage their private information outside of home.