IDC 2025 HYBRID WORKSHOP - CALL FOR PARTICIPATION!
Unlike any previous generation, children’s lives are now highly datafied, tracked, and digitally monitored. They are increasingly vulnerable to data collection from seemingly innocuous toys and devices with cameras, sensors, voice recognition, and geolocation. Yet, children typically lack awareness or control over these data exchanges, as consent is usually given by adult caregivers (who may also lack data literacy). Despite regulatory improvements, interdisciplinary approaches remain crucial to empowering children to understand, value, and manage their personal data. How can the IDC community involve children in designing and using their personal data? This workshop unites experts to explore current practices.
Despite a growing public awareness of technology’s accelerating capacity to capture, process and exploit personal data, this has not been matched by efforts to promote understanding of the myriad ways in which our information is harvested. Children and young people in particular are increasingly exposed to risks through their use of apparently innocuous toys and devices that can generate data from everyday interactions. What methods are being used across IDC to explore children’s understanding of personal data? What steps can we as a community take to ensure children are kept safe and yet have agency over their data?
The goals of this workshop are:
1) to create an explorative visual mapping of the methods and mindsets currently used by the IDC community around children and personal data and in which contexts.
2) to understand where and how children are being included in research and design concerning their personal data.
3) to converge on a set of principles or a manifesto for the design community to follow on best practice in such contexts.
Submission
This in-person, full-day workshop invites researchers and practitioners to engage in critical discussions about children’s personal data. We welcome participants working in this space or those looking to explore it further.
To participate, please submit a 1–2 page position paper (excluding references, in IDC submission format) via email to the lead author. The paper should address the following:
Your Area of Work: A field or topic you currently work on, have worked on in the past, or wish to explore in relation to children’s personal data.
Relevance to the Workshop: How your research or interests connect to the themes of this workshop.
Methodologies & Insights: Approaches you have used (or plan to use) to study children’s understanding of personal data.
Key Examples: Vignettes, images, or data snippets that illustrate your work or challenges in this space.
Critical Reflections: Challenges and opportunities you have encountered in studying children’s personal data.
Engagement Questions:
- What is one question you would like to ask other participants in this workshop?
- What is one question you would like to ask children about their personal data?
- Why do you want to participate?
- What can you contribute to the discussions?
- What do you hope to gain from this experience?
Participants will be selected based on the relevance of their submission and to ensure a diverse range of perspectives across disciplines, career stages, and experiences. At least one author of each accepted submission must attend the workshop, and all participants must register for both the workshop and the main conference.
Submission Deadline: April 21, 2025 April 28, 2025 (midnight, Anywhere on Earth time).
To submit your proposal, please send by email to ayca.atabey@ed.ac.uk; d.perera@ed.ac.uk; andres.ramirez-duque@glasgow.ac.uk; ensuring that you also copy in megan.j.baker@ed.ac.uk who will be managing submissions. If Megan is not copied, there may be a delay in reviewing your submission.
The exact date of the workshop is yet to be confirmed by conference organisers but we will let you know when it is announced.
We hope to see you in Iceland or online at IDC!
Warm regards,
The Workshop Committee
Contact: Ayça Atabey
Cara Wilson
Andrew Manches
Uta Hinrichs
Stephen Anthony Brewster
Andres Ramirez
Dushani Perera
Dorsey B. Kaufmann
Ge Wang
Bernd Ploderer
Judith Good
John Vines