Rosa Dijkstra | Understanding Digital Doings: Digital Inclusion in Settled Migrant Families in the Netherlands

With 26% of the Dutch population having a migration background, understanding digital inclusion for migrants is a crucial societal issue, as well as a significant research and policy concern. While information and media literacy education has increasingly recognized the role of culture, digital literacy is still often framed as a neutral, standardized set of skills detached from socio-cultural contexts. This is problematic because cultural backgrounds—alongside social factors such as socio-economic status, education, gender, and age—play an important role in shaping how individuals perceive and engage with digital technologies.

This project seeks to fill this gap by exploring how these cultural and social dimensions intersect to shape digital inclusion among migrant generations. The PhD aims to provide an in-depth analysis of digital inclusion patterns among different migrant generations in the Netherlands. The project focuses on families of Turkish and Moroccan backgrounds (settled migrants), comparing (digital) media use across urban contexts in Rotterdam and rural areas in Groningen. It will examine how different migrant generations use digital media, focusing on socio-cultural factors, online interactions, media consumption, and participation in online communities.

Specifically, this PhD will investigate the question: How do different patterns of digital inclusion emerge among people with migration backgrounds in the Netherlands? The research will use qualitative ethnographic methods to explore access, motivation, skills, engagement, and outcomes shaped by social and cultural factors, with a focus on children aged 10-15. The study will also examine the two-way exchange of digital literacy within families and the role of cultural intermediaries. Methods will include interviews, network diagrams, and participatory observation (day-in-the-life method), incorporating elements of participatory action research (PAR) and think-aloud protocols.