Chapter 1. Introduction .- Chapter 2. The platformization of the family.- Chapter 3. The home as a site of platformization.- Chapter 4. How the family makes itself: The platformization of parenting in early childhood.- Chapter 5. Researching the platformization of the family: Methodological challenges.- Chapter 6. Conclusion: Toward further research into the platformization of the family.

"How do platforms get into the family home and how do families get platformized? Many books have tried to analyze the political-economic nature of platform power; this book demonstrates how platform power has deeply penetrated the nucleus of social life. It is a real eye-opener as it helps us better understand the intricate dynamics between social media apps and the families they "glue" together."
—José van Dijck, Professor of Media Studies and Digital Society, Utrecht University, Netherlands, and author of The Platform Society (Oxford UP).

"This short but empirically and theoretically rich book suggests a much-needed research agenda for the platformisation of the family. In eloquent nuance, it discusses the ways in which macro-structural conditions of contemporary platform society affects the micro-social relations within everyday family life, carefully avoiding alarmist dystopian jargon as well as affirmative techno-optimism. A must-read for anyone interested in relation between the affordances of technology and the social dynamics of the family."
​​​​—Göran Bolin, Professor, Department of Media & Communication Studies, Södertörn University, Sweden                  

This open access book outlines how the digital platforms that mediate so many aspects of commercial and personal life have begun to transform everyday family existence. It presents theory and research methods to enable students and scholars to investigate the changes that platformization has brought to the routines and interactions of family life including intergenerational communication, interpersonal relationships, forms of care and togetherness. The book emerged from a seminar jointly funded by the Collaboration of Humanities and Social Sciences in Europe project, the Norwegian Research Council and The Australian Centre of Excellence for the Study of the Digital Child.

Julian Sefton-Green is Professor of New Media Education at Deakin University, Australia.

Kate Mannell is Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child at Deakin University, Australia.

Ola Erstad is Professor of Education at University of Oslo, Norway.

“How do platforms get into the family home and how do families get platformized? Many books have tried to analyze the political-economic nature of platform power; this book demonstrates how platform power has deeply penetrated the nucleus of social life. It is a real eye-opener as it helps us better understand the intricate dynamics between social media apps and the families they "glue" together.” (José van Dijck, Professor of Media Studies and Digital Society, Utrecht University, Netherlands, and author of The Platform Society (Oxford UP))

“This short but empirically and theoretically rich book suggests a much-needed research agenda for the platformisation of the family. In eloquent nuance, it discusses the ways in which macro-structural conditions of contemporary platform society affects the micro-social relations within everyday family life, carefully avoiding alarmist dystopian jargon as well as affirmative techno-optimism. A must-read for anyone interested in relation between the affordances of technology and the social dynamics of the family.” (Göran Bolin, Professor, Department of Media & Communication Studies, Södertörn University, Sweden)

“This insightful book tackles a compelling issue: how platformization is reshaping our families and our collective lives. Importantly, the authors adopt a non-media-centric approach, setting forth a research agenda that prioritises the lived experiences of doing family in the context of the sociocultural transformations of late modernity—while not neglecting the problematic datafication and monetisation of families to the benefit of platforms. A must read for anyone uncomfortable with both techno-solutionism and techno-determinism.” (Giovanna Mascheroni, Professor of Sociology of Digital media, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, and co-author of “Datafied Childhoods: Data Practices and Imaginaries in Children’s Lives”)

“With a smart review of recent research literature and the presentation of thought-provoking new data, this book lays the foundation for research into how families are negotiating their practices in relation to the powerful platforms of our time.” (Lynn Schofield Clark, author, “The Parent App: Understanding Families in the Digital Age”)

Situates debates about platformization, mediatization and datafication within a history of change in social organization Pursues the significance of datafication within self-understandings family narrative Summarizes current state of knowledge about the platformization of the family while This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access

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