Include+ Workshop: Exploring ​Digital Joys in Youth in India

The Pranava Institute x Udisha Madan

The Exploring Digital Joys project aims to unpack how ​young people in India experience joy on the internet. ​Through a participatory workshop for youth aged 18-28 ​years, the project seeks to provide young people from ​different parts of India with an open space to unpack:

• What diverse joys do young people experience in their ​digital lives, and how can these be mapped both ​visually and spatially?
• Which digital spaces are seen as ‘playgrounds’ where ​new forms of joyful experiences are created?
• How do young people in India experience ​‘togetherness’ or ‘community’ online, and does that ​impact their offline lives?
• How can participatory art and design methods be ​leveraged to create a digital cartographic map of where ​people ‘go’ online to seek joy- resulting in a creative ​artistic output?
  

How did you approach this principle in your project? How has the community co-explored it during the project? How ​was it interpreted? You’re welcome to provide your feedback and/or any information collected during the workshop.

The project sought to collaboratively explore the diverse ways in which young people experience joy on the internet. Young ​individuals (age: 18-28 years) were invited to explore their digital joys through three thematic buckets: digital spaces, time and ​diversity. The workshop focused on unpacking the influence of language, region, gender, media, and access on digital ​experiences. Through this exploration, the participants explored different ways of staying connected to their identities and ​cultures through digital platforms.

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How did you approach the topic of digital equity in your project?

The project focused on digital equity by adopting an inclusive, participatory design approach to collaborate with young people in ​India. Through this project we primarily explored the principle of ‘Diversity’ by conducting a virtual, hands-on workshop for young ​individuals from diverse backgrounds in India. The workshop was structured to facilitate shared exploration and in-depth ​understanding of the influence of language, region, gender, media, and access on digital experiences of the participants.

What did digital equity mean to the people you worked with?

• Young people are able to leverage digital platforms for various purposes including entertainment, networking, education, skill-​building and social participation.
  
• Coming from diverse cultural backgrounds, young individuals in India navigate digital platforms in unique ways to find contents ​and communities that resonate with their cultural identities.
• Young people employ diverse measures to ensure mindful usage of digital platforms and balance their online vs offline lives to ​achieve digital well-being.

Did it [not] make sense or led to an entirely new conversation about something else?

While the workshop largely focused on diversity of their digital experiences based on language, region, access, and culture, the ​participants also shared their perspectives on ways in which they curate their digital experiences to reclaim their agency and connect ​with their identities online.

• Young people today navigate a complex digital landscape, deriving joy from a variety of platforms and content. ​They derive joy from these platforms by curating their digital experiences for specific purposes. Instagram, ​YouTube, WhatsApp, and Reddit are some of the most commonly inhabited digital spaces.
• Young people in India consume different types of content on digital platforms across the day including, images, ​texts, videos (short and long form), blogs, vlogs, livestreams, etc. Preference towards certain types of content or ​platforms varies depending on the time of the day/night.
• Young people increasingly find their communities online, a trend exacerbated during the pandemic. Participants ​explored different ways of finding online communities that they feel ‘a part of’. Individuals feel a sense of ​belongingness in smaller, tight-knit communities that resonate with them, instead of larger ones. Young people ​derive joy in staying connected with their close ones on the internet by sharing regular updates throughout the ​day.
  

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• Young individuals are mindful of their digital experiences. Their ability to understand persuasive design patterns ​helps them to override these patterns and use it for their own benefit. Youth try engage in different detox ​methods to handle overwhelming digital experiences.
  
• Young people in India seek different ways to stay connected to their cultures and reclaim their identities. ​Diversity in their digital joys is shaped by language, region, media, access, and gender. Young individuals find ​more joy in digital experiences specific to their native language, culture or region.
• Organising digital lives, striking a balance between online vs offline time, gamifying the algorithms, and curating ​digital experiences are some ways in which young individuals reclaim their agency on digital platforms to ​experience joy on the internet.
• While challenges like algorithm manipulation and digital overload exist, young people are able to navigate the ​complex digital landscape by developing strategies to reclaim agency and well-being.
  

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Exploring Digital Joys - A virtual, hands-on workshop was conducted to unpack the diverse ways in which young people in India ​experience joy on the internet. By ensuring diverse participation and adopting an inclusive and participatory approach, the ​workshop effectively captured the nuances of diverse digital experiences of youth in India. The key findings which emerged from ​the workshop are as follows:

• Young people actively curate their digital experiences across various platforms, and experience joy by engaging with content ​that resonates with them
  
• Diverse factors, including language, region, culture and access to content shape individual digital experiences and the ways in ​which young people connect with their identities online.
• Young people are able to form communities online by building and maintaining online connections on various digital platforms ​through shared digital experiences.
• Understanding digital platforms and their persuasive design patterns empower young individuals to navigate the digital ​landscape effectively by taking active measures to ensure digital well-being

The key findings from the workshop will be used to create a digital cartographic map of diverse online joys experienced by young ​people in India. The perspectives and insights on ‘diverse’ digital joys, will be mapped visually and spatially, organised under three ​major themes namely agency, well-being and community. The creative output will also include shared exploration and ​understanding of the online vs offline time periods of young people and their digital platform usage at different times of the day.

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Name: Udisha Madan

Bio: Udisha is an independent graphic designer and illustrator based in Bangalore, ​India. Her work is emotive, explorative and tends to be energised by her environment.

Over the past year, Udisha has been functioning as an independent studio practice, ​acquiring and leading projects in the silos of branding, packaging, website, print and ​more. She believes in creating well-rounded and visually pleasing solutions to the ​unique needs of each project through a multidisciplinary lens. As her career has ​progressed, she has explored all things visual for the likes of Kingfisher, Philips, ​Women’s Fund Asia, Third Wave Coffee, Sofar Sounds and of course, The Pranava ​Institute!

Moving forward, Udisha is excited about the interplay between design and digital ​infrastructures, more specifically how it affects human psychology and behaviour.

Links: https://www.instagram.com/udishamadan/

Contact: udisha.madan@gmail.com

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commissioned illustration ​which celebrates the ​importance of SELF LOVE ON ​VALENTINE’S DAY

AN ILLUSTRATED BOX CREATED FOR A HEALTHY SNACKING COMPANY, FOR ​THE INDIAN FESTIVAL OF RAKHI. THE HEXAGONAL BOX represents how a ​sibling relationship evolves as they grow up together.

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The Pranava Institute, New Delhi, India

The Pranava Institute is a New Delhi-based organisation that works at the intersection of emerging technology, policy ​and society to shape sustainable technological futures. Pranava seeks to contribute novel research on how emerging ​technology is changing and interacting with society, and the role of policy in shaping more sustainable technological ​futures. Our research areas include responsible AI, trust and safety, deceptive design, youth and digital ​empowerment, and digital public infrastructure. As an organisation working on technology, policy and society in India, ​The Pranava Institute does impact-focused research on how technology is changing society and politics, to produce ​multimedia outputs, research, and policy recommendations. Our work involves working with multiple stakeholders and ​diverse communities on new issues in tech policy. We have also leveraged design-led approaches to develop ​interactive multimedia educational resources for youth to engage on key digital issues. Our open toolkits for youth ​titled Unboxing Tech Toolkits aim to empower youth to better manage their relationship with technology through ​interactive reflection-based education.

The Unboxing Tech Toolkit project

Our Unboxing Tech Toolkit series project seeks to create open ​educational resources for youth to help them understand and better ​navigate their relationship with technology. These toolkits are ​accompanied by comprehensive facilitator guides and resource lists to ​empower teachers and facilitators to deploy these educational ​resources in local contexts.

Designed with and for young people, the first module of the toolkit ​offers playful and interactive activities to understand how deceptive ​design or persuasive technologies can influence our behaviour, ​emotions, and attention. The first module was also presented as a ​community lab session at the RightsCon 2022 conference and has ​been translated into German. The second module titled The Materiality ​of the Smartphone focuses on how tracing the complex material flows ​of the smartphone can help youth make more sustainable technology ​choices. This module has received global recognition at fora including ​the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum in Brisbane and ​the Re: Publica 2023, Germany.

Visit our website : https://www.pranavainstitute.com/