Boris Jokić, PhD, is the Director of the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb. He holds a degree in psychology from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb and a PhD from the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. His scientific career has been strongly rooted in the field of psychology of education.
His most recent Croatian Science Foundation research focuses on the effects of pandemic on mental health, aspirations of children and youth, their learning and trust. He was a member of the National Council of Education and is one of the authors of the current Croatian strategy of education, science and technology. He was the leader of the Comprehensive Curricular Reform of early and pre-school, elementary and secondary education in Croatia.
“Caught between Tik-Tok and the school playground – perspectives of children and young people on the use of digital technologies”
The impact of digital technology on the lives and development of children and young people is the subject of numerous polarizing public debates ranging from ‘the moral panic’ and calls for bans to advocacy of unrestricted use from a very early age. The voice of children and young people is rarely included in public, professional and scientific forums. Although insufficiently included, this voice is crucial for understanding the practices and perspectives of current generations.
In the lecture ‘Caught between Tik-Tok and the school playground – perspectives of children and young people on the use of digital technologies’, the results of research on the experiences of children and young people in the digital environment and their views on the impact of digital technologies on lives and society will be presented for the first time. In the research, financed by the Croatian Science Foundation, more than 16,000 fifth and seventh grade elementary school students and third grade secondary school schools from 165 Croatian schools participated. Special emphasis in the lecture is devoted to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the time spent in the digital environment and the structure of the activities of students of different generations. Data on the perception of the impact of digital technologies on learning and education, but also on other important parts of young people’s lives, such as friendships, family relationships and falling in love, will also be presented.
