ASAP
A Systemic APproach to social media and pre-adolescents through thinking skills education
The ASAP is a transnational and interdisciplinary project aiming at promoting a broader understanding of the complex phenomenon of digital and social media use among pre-adolescents (11-13 y.o.).
ASAP supports the school community – kids, teachers, families, in addressing digital literacy needs through structural, non-contingent approaches and reforms, and promotes the creation of inclusive school contexts capable of also considering the “digital” needs of kids and value their vision and skills.
Read more about project’s objectives here.
School Teachers
Schools
At ASAP, we are working towards creating a school community that speaks not just through social media but also about social media and digital media, in general.
We believe in authentic intergenerational dialogue that allows kids to claim their expertise and adults to redefine their mediator role.
The need for a broader approach to digital and social media literacy is relevant considering the ongoing digitisation of the learning and social context in schools, boosted by the recent pandemic.
For ASAP, it is essential to promote a digital education that focuses on everyone’s primary need. 11 schools are involved in all project activities, from the field survey to the pilot lessons, providing constant feedback to the outputs and ensuring their impact. And in Italy, we have already started with the activities in school establishing a Collaborative Editorial Board.
Families
School parents associations expressed an urgent need for digital educational interventions.
Most programmes on online safety are limited to legal and psychological risk prevention, leaving kids (and families) unequipped to deal with the fast changing context of social media platforms.
At ASAP, we are bridging the gap with our approach to social and digital media literacy through metacognition. This approach enables kids and families to think about their actions on social media and prevent impulsive behaviour.
ASAP believes in the empowerment of the specific educating capacity of Adults (teachers and parents). Working with families reinforces the idea that creating and educational programme is a process that benefits from community work. It also allows for the development of empathy towards all school community members.
Pre-adolescents
ASAP acknowledges preadolescence – the age “in be-tween” – and targets 11-13 years old kids, assuming that while the borders in a buffer zone cannot be traced with certainty, we can indeed say that its main feature is to be the “age on the edge”.
Plus, being a digital native is not just about having technical digital skills. At ASAP, we believe that thinking skills are equally important. With our programme, based on a metacognitive and learning-to-learn approach, educators, families and adults can guide the reflection on social and digital media and promote metacognition in kids. ASAP approach aims to develop kids’ understanding of how media shapes and transforms their relationship with the world.
We are in fact especially interested in investigating the effects of social media on their brain, on social, emotional and relationship aspects of kids’ lives. And to value kids’ knowledge and skills in social media use.
