0-3-year-old children’s experiences of talk, writing and reading in post-digital UK homes

Has contemporary home life in the UK entered the post-digital? Grounding our reflections on emerging findings from the ESRC-funded study Toddlers Tech and Talk (2022-2024), we address this and the following more specific questions: In what ways do very young children’s lives in diverse families across the UK intersect with digital media? What attitudes do parents and carers have towards very young children’s active engagements with digital media, including their multimodal text authoring? Findings indicate that 0-3-year-olds are born and raised in homes where digital technologies and practices are woven through the fabric of daily life, so it is no longer feasible to separate the digital from the non-digital. Yet very little is known about how the post-digital shapes very young children’s experiences of talk, writing and reading at home. We base our presentation on accounts shared with us by the parents and legal guardians of 0-3-year-olds through a multilingual online survey (n=1,000+) and online interviews (n=60). These constitute Phases 1 and 2 of an ongoing study, which will include in-depth Case Studies in participant homes during Phase 3. Evidence to date indicates that 0-3s begin to observe and communicate in authentic, digitally-mediated activities, including interacting with distant family and friends via social media platforms and/or multimodal text authoring. Findings will be helpful to inform parents, educators and caregivers how to support very young children’s engagement with new media in meaningful and playful ways that benefit their learning, and how to manage their safety