Critical Technology
The Critical Technology podcast (2020-2023) explored cutting edge research on the social, cultural, and political implications of new technological developments. Each episodes features an interview with a leading scholar of technology about one (or more) of their most recent publications. Initially launched as a COVID-19 pivot and funded by the Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI) at the University of Toronto, the podcast was produced, edited and hosted by Dr. Sara Grimes, with massive help and creative contributions from several outstanding UofT students and alumni (see credits for details). Critical Technology was nominated for a Canadian Podcast Award in the Best Technology Series category in 2023 (finalist, but not awarded), and was accepted into the Amplify Podcast Network’s Sustain Stream inaugural cohort in 2023-2024. Read the open access "postmortem" report about Critical Technology and the process of creating a podcast for academic knowledge mobilization here: https://utoronto.scholaris.ca/items/3e6d7ce3-d5ae-4c3e-a302-4ca3b52d85d4
Critical Technology
The digital (neighbour)hood (Interview with Dr. Robin Stevens originally aired Mar. 14, 2022)
How, where, and what kids and teens learn about safe sex, substance use, and other health-related topics is incredibly important. Especially for young people who are already dealing with higher risk factors, such as neighbourhood poverty and violence--a disproportionate number of whom are young people of colour, specifically Black, Latinx or Indigenous youth. In this episode, Dr. Sara M. Grimes chats with Dr. Robin Stevens, Associate Professor at University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and the Director and founder of the Health Equity and Media Collab, about her research on Black, Latinx and LGBTQ+ youth's use of social media, and the implications for their health and well-being.
The discussion is focused on two of Dr. Stevens's articles: “The digital hood: Social media use among youth in disadvantaged neighborhoods,” published in 2017 in New Media and Society; and “#digitalhood: Engagement with risk content in Social Media among Black and Hispanic Youth,” published in the Journal of Urban Health in 2019.
Type of research discussed in today's episode: health communication; digital epidemiology; community-engaged research; interdisciplinary research; youth studies; qualitative research.
Keywords for today's episode: digital neighbourhood/hood; risk-related content; Black youth culture; Latinx youth culture; technological determinism; content creation; invisible visibility.
