Mapping future [in]equity in digital relationships between young people and trusted adults
‘Trusted Online’ aims to deep dive into the intersection of online environments and the relationship between young people and trusted adults.
Our objectives are:
- Mapping the various trusted adults in young people’s lives and any online/digital elements they use to interact with each other.
- Training a team of 10 young signal spotters who will be sharing observations, trends, or patterns relating to digital interactions with trusted adults for 2 weeks.
- Generate a series of scenarios looking towards 2035, focusing on how trusted adults can better support future, more tech-oriented generations of young people.
Although we aim to shape the methodology with young people, we begin by proposing future foresight methods, including signal spotting, mapping and horizon scanning. The methods are built on existing practice within the IN+ network (as can be seen here, during the Digital Youth Work Conference 2025).
Innovation comes from new insights generated, which can extend exciting IN+ debates and contribute to the DYWR.HUB. Equally important, we are providing young people with a safe and supportive environment to co-explore the relational elements of digital [in]equity. They are starting a reflective learning process, thinking about their future roles as trusted adults themselves. Moreover, practitioners can also discover what young people find comfortable and natural in their digital relationships.
The team’s skills include meaningful youth participation, youth-led research, and experience creating non-formal learning opportunities and presenting findings in ways that are engaging and accessible.
‘Trusted Online’ strives for digital inclusion, collective care and responsiveness, adopting a holistic future-oriented approach. We aim to engage youth clubs, schools, and youth justice teams to cover a wider range of lived experiences. The project will capture a point of reference which can be used for future planning in the ever-changing landscape of digital technologies.