Children's Construction of Self and Other: Engaging With Media and Cultural Artifacts

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: Play(ing) With Media: Cultural Artifacts, Aesthetic Pedagogies, and Multimodal Assessment

Abstract

In light of the rise of online technologies, this paper considers how children construct their perceptions of the self and other in relation to their engagements with media and cultural artifacts. Findings from a qualitative study involving in-depth, dynamic interviews with seven children and their parents indicate three main themes: children’s internalization of social categories, their desire for empowerment, and parents’ views of the relationship between cultural artifacts and identity formation. Through Mead’s (1963/1934) concepts of symbolic interactionism and the generalized other, the authors argue that understanding the intricate layers of children’s engagement in virtual and non-virtual play spaces can help parents, teachers, and practitioners to develop ways to advance critical and agential understanding of the media they use.

Authors

• Dan Mamlok, Tel Aviv University

• Sandra Chang-Kredl, Concordia University