New technology is something threatening and often dangerous. At least that is the picture presented if you read modern children’s literature.
– This is contradictory. Technology is becoming an increasingly integral part of everyday life, including in literature. But at the same time, there is often a concern or a hidden threat in technology, says Jakob Olsson, researcher at ý.
Jakob Olsson has studied 249 books, published between 2000 and 2019. And his findings show how technology is becoming an increasingly natural element in literature, but also that the adult world often wants to problematise and depict new technology as dangerous.
– It is clear that a negative image is portrayed. The problematising narratives clearly outweigh the positives and often tend to lean towards extremes, says Jakob.
He exemplifies this by noting that if children’s and young adult literature includes social media, it often focuses on young girls being exposed to something bad. Similarly, if video games are included, it might depict someone playing excessively and wanting to change this behaviour.
Over the 20-year period that Jakob has studied, the narratives reflect the technological landscape in various ways and generally follow the technological development. However, there is a tension in the depictions, where opportunities and risks are constantly being weighed against each other.
– While young adults need to embrace digital technology to become well-functioning digital citizens, it is important that they keep it at arm’s length to avoid potential negative consequences. In other words, a large part of young people’s lives is often portrayed in literature as something dangerous, says Jakob.
Jakob says that the research field that he has devoted himself to is interesting from many perspectives, for example, because the sender and intended audience of the literature are not the same.
– After all, children’s and young adult literature is adults’ interpretation of young people’s reality. In some way, it is about what we as adults want to convey to young people, rather than young people’s depiction of reality. And this, of course, makes it interesting that the books tend to send out warnings about technology rather than being open to the opportunities.
Jakob Olsson recently defended his doctoral thesis “Wired Children, Adult Networks, and Digital Tensions: Digitalisation and Media Skirmishes in Children’s and Young Adult Literature in Sweden 2000–2019” at ý. He describes that children’s and young adult literature often addresses contemporary issues and the current public debate. This includes topics such as screen time, online dating and digital competence. Technology takes an increasingly prominent role in literature over time, and today it is often an integral part of the plot in children’s literature.
– It is evident that the early 2000s differ a lot from today. It feels like it was only yesterday, but when you look at how the technology is depicted, it is a long time ago. You could say that the period I studied is influenced by two major events: the millennium bug and the coronavirus pandemic.
