Vidi grant for research on social media, parenting and youth crime
NSCR researcher Evelien Hoeben has been awarded an NWO Vidi grant for her research project 'From Missing the Signs to Crossing the Lines: Social Media Parenting and Youth Crime'. The Vidi grant of €850,000 allows experienced researchers to develop their own innovative line of research and to establish or expand a research group over a period of five years.
On social media, youth encounter content that implicitly or explicitly refers to crime, such as footage of fights, vandalism, and torture, but also advertisements for criminal jobs. This is known as ‘criminogenic content’. Exposure to it may be harmful to young people.
“Parents are often unaware that their children see such content. Or they are aware of the risks of social media, but don’t know how to talk to their children about it,” says Hoeben. “This Vidi will allow us to investigate which parenting strategies are effective, so that we can provide parents with practical tools for dealing with this new reality.”
The project consists of a large-scale quantitative study in which adolescents and their parents are followed for three years. This is complemented by qualitative research in the form of observations and in-depth interviews with parents.
Additionally, the project addresses how the insights gained can be communicated effectively to the right target groups. Hoeben explains: “We know from previous research that not all youth come into contact with criminogenic content equally often. There appears to be a small group that encounters it daily, while a large group is rarely exposed to it. It is therefore important to find out which youth are most at risk, and how we can reach their parents in particular.”
The Vidi builds on earlier NSCR research, including the SOCIALS project, of which Hoeben is co-project leader, and the NWO XS grant she received previously.
