Siete connessi?

SIETE CONNESSI? is an Agorà project conducted between 2021 and 2023. This project aims to underline the importance of a responsible use of the smartphone, especially among children and adolescents. The project is based on the results of the study MEDIATICINO2.0, financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation. It proposes three activities to promote a conscious smartphone use: an atelier for elementary and middle school students; several meetings where researchers enter into dialogue with citizens, talking about the main findings of their study on adolescents and new media; and lastly, two roundtable discussions - in collaboration with Lugano Living Lab – which are held in two consecutive years during the digital autumn.

Today, the smartphone is a crucial companion in our lives, especially among the youngest part of the population. It offers us a wide range of content and possibilities, which can be beneficial and harmful at the same time. In addition, its ubiquitous presence has radically changed the way we live and interact with each other, creating moments of fun but also conflict when sharing online experiences. These examples suggest the importance of a conscious smartphone use. This is the aim of the AGORA project “Towards a conscious smartphone use among children and adolescents,” financed by the National Research Foundation, and coordinated by the researchers Dr. Anne-Linda Camerini and Laura Marciano at the Institute of Public Health, in collaboration with L’Ideatorio. The two-year project runs in 2021 and 2022 and proposes three activities: a two-hour ATELIER for elementary and middle school students at L’ideatorio in Cadro, during which participants are stimulated to apply a critical approach towards the smartphone in a playful and collaborative manner. A series of EVENING EVENTS, where researchers enter into dialogue with citizens, talking about the main findings of their study on adolescents and new media; and lastly, a ROUNDTABLE organized in collaboration with Lugano Living Lab every year during the digital autumn. Furthermore, the AGORA project foresees a close collaboration with Lugano Living Lab, IBSA Foundation, and Media in Piazza in developing content and involving the citizens of Lugano in activities closely related to the use of new technologies as part of their strategy #digitaleconsapevole – Digital awareness. The AGORA project is supported by several organizations in Ticino, among which the city of Lugano, the DECS Centre for Educational and Digital Resources, the Cantonal Parent Association, Lugano Living Lab, and Science et Cité.