Intergenerational Attitudes Towards Social Networking and Cybersafety : a Living Lab

This research report presents the findings of a small-scale pilot study conducted by a collaborative team: the Inspire Foundation, the University of Western Sydney and Murdoch University. It represents a joint commitment by the research partners to responding to the cybersafety challenge in ways that meaningfully account for young people’s experiences and actively promote intergenerational dialogue. In this research, a “living lab” was created in which young people designed and delivered a three-hour workshop on social networking and cybersafety for adult participants. The researchers captured the dialogue between young people and adults and make key recommendations relating to future cybersafety education models. Fundamentally this project places young people at the forefront of decision making in relation to cybersafety - it positions them as educators and partners with their parents and members of the community in finding solutions to keeping safe online. This unique methodology in which young people, researchers and adult members of the community are equal provides significant insight into bridging the “digital divide” and reducing the “disconnect” across generations