Navigating the Online Networks of Young Creators

With hope and realism , Navigating the Online Networks of Young Creators: An Investigation of Digital Visual Learning  describes young people‘s community-building, creativity, and independent co-education as well as the vulnerabilities and mental health challenges in their use and experience of social media and their technologies beyond the classroom/school curriculum bubble. Based on 3-years of research (including the intensities of the ‘Covid years’), the 10 chapters are also grounded in a realism that has richly descriptive research featuring youth from across the country. Exploring themes such as: ‘teaching as participating’, ‘online identity formation’, ‘mental health and safety’, ‘creativity and neurodivergence’, ‘AI’, and ‘artist’s rights’, the authors conclude that emerging school curriculum can and should harmonize with the innovative practices within youth culture: this book “not only illuminates but empowers educators, parents, and policymakers.” 

—Dr. Michael J. Emme, Associate Professor Emeritus, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada

This volume examines how young creators learn, create, and share their visual art online. Drawing from a robust set of case studies gathered locally, nationally, and internationally over three years with young adults 16-24, this work comes together as a crucial resource for understanding the evolving landscape of online art creation and dissemination by young people. The influence of social media is central to this exploration of the continuous cycle of producing, circulating, and consuming of digital images, here designated as digital visual learning networks (DVLN). As technology remains an inherent part of daily activities, contributions provide insights into how young creators harness tools to learn, innovate, and share.

Juan Carlos Castro is Professor of Art Education at Concordia University, Canada. His previous books include Mobile Media in and Outside of the Art Classroom: Attending to Identity, Spatiality, Movement, and Materiality (2019), Youth Practices in Digital Arts and New Media: Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (2015), and Educational, Psychological, and Behavioral Considerations in Niche Online Communities (2014).

Joanna Black is Professor of Visual Art Education at the University of Manitoba, Canada. Her previous books include Youth Practices in Digital Arts and New Media: Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (2015).