Boise State’s John Ziker (anthropology), Jerry Fails (computer science), and Kendall House (anthropology) published a paper in a special issue of the journal Social Sciences dedicated to the digital resilience of youth. Co-authors include two recent Boise State master’s degree recipients, Jessi Boyer (anthropology) and Michael Wendell (computer science), as well as Boise State undergraduate Hollie Abele (anthropology). The paper, “Parent-Child Adaptive Responses for Digital Resilience,” describes the results of a mixed-methods project exploring the concept of the “digital ecology of fear.”
The paper summarizes four mini-studies exploring how parents think about the risks and benefits presented by different types of online platforms, and what parents are currently doing to create safe online experiences for their children. The authors interpret these descriptive findings using human life history theory, a framework developed in evolutionary anthropology, and outline how this lens can aid the development of a new approach to making online environments safer. The final mini-study developed and tested a prototype software application aimed at helping parents and children adaptively respond to perceived online risks by encouraging skill development aligned with executive functioning. The authors argue that such an approach will become increasingly important in the future as the online environment continues to change with new innovations and uncertain risks, such as those posed by children’s use of AI.
This project is funded by a U.S. National Science Foundation EAGER award (2210082) to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration in Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace.