The growth of Internet access, ICTs, and social media have contributed in a blatant and well-documented way to how people communicate and relate to one another in contemporary society. The general perception of “the public sphere” is changing: How relationships between individuals are established and maintained, and—more importantly—how they influence processes of social inclusion and exclusion are, increasingly, at the mercy of an amorphous, often unrestrained, and ever-changing digital environment. This thematic issue proposes to address some of the most prominent risks and repercussions of this transformation to social cohesion and individual well-being.

By navigating the realities and experiences of users (and especially young users) from a myriad of online platforms/digital spaces, we want to tackle how the proliferation of hate speech and identity/gender biases is increasingly made easier in the “virtual world” (see, e.g., Paz et al., 2021; Piñeiro-Otero & Martínez-Rolán, 2021), fueling tensions and conflicts that transpire into “non-digital reality,” inciting real violent behaviours and, ultimately, endangering worldly accepted values of social cohesion and inclusion.

The adaptability of young users to online platforms is notorious, if not sometimes taken for granted. Even more “sheltered” spaces like online video games emphasise and capitalize, more and more, on their “social character” (see the case of multiplayer online games, or MMOs). But what are the social implications and impacts of a hostile digital environment on childhood/adolescence and youth? Digital experiences are a flourishing industry; yet what is being made to challenge and face the rising cases of bullying, harassment, and violence that such experiences instil? What mechanisms are at society’s disposal to mitigate these problems? What tools are being/could be used in shaping a more inclusive society in the virtual sphere and how can we promote more positive narratives from within the digital world?

More info: mwalter@ucjc.edu