A scoping review and call for forward momentum

I was very pleased to be able to contribute towards this new article published open access and which can be found here

The article argues : Digital technologies are a common part of everyday life for families with young children (aged 0–8). Despite public anxiety around this reality, much of the current guidance for families and practitioners is conflicting and lacks sufficient evidence. This article maps recent research to gauge the extent to which it is providing nuanced understandings of digital technology use that can positively contribute to this context. Through a large-scale, multi-disciplinary scoping review, this article provides a high- level view of dominant topics, research designs, and conceptual approaches. It finds that the field is largely rooted in methodological and conceptual approaches to childhood, family, difference, and technology that are insufficient for capturing the breadth and complexity of experiences in this area. Rather than arguing for a specific approach, we call for forward momentum in the form of greater ambition to look beyond current methods, concepts, and questions – especially those that are no longer fit for purpose. The review identifies several issues and gaps around which research agendas could be reframed. These include the need for more precise articulations of technologies, greater emphasis on dimensions of use other than time, abandoning dosage models of media effects, and greater attention to diverse digital childhoods.