Abstract:

The paper presents part of the results of the first phase of project named 'Digital identity in hyperconnected youths: challenges for family, social and school context'. The purpose of this project is to understand the processes of construction and reconstruction of the identity of youth between 12-18 years old, analysing both how and what level impinge on hyperconnectivity and the perception they have of the connection time in different digital spaces (content platforms, social networks and interactive games), where they are and where they act, producing, consuming and/or exchanging information.

In the first phase of the project, a qualitative study will be carried out through discussion groups and interviews, for which, we have designed a guidelines and instruments (after the development of a basic investigation based on the objectives of the project), with the objective of identifying a series of topics that allow us to collect the necessary data from the in-depth interviews and in the discussion groups, with the ultimate objective being to construct and validate a survey.

The research general objectives are as follows:
a) to study, from different methodological approaches and in different spaces of digital leisure, the temporal perception of young people towards technology and construction of their identities;
b) to describe the regulatory state in which the organisation and regulation of the impact of hyperconnectivity is found in educational centres, at both a national and an international level;
c) to identify the processes of construction of identity of the hyperconnected youth, to obtain a pedagogical base that allows us to design a training model on its use, permanence and control of digital time, from a technological education perspective.

This investigation will be carried out through the development of thirty-six in-depth interviews, nine discussion groups, a survey, as well as two experimental studies named "CONNECTED" and "DISCONNECTED". In the first study, the amount of time young people spend using technology will be studied, which will be measured by through a registration application installed on the young people's main mobile device; the second is based on a study of self perception from a period of voluntary disconnection from their mobile devices, the objective of the study in this case will be analysed through an analogical diary that the volunteers should write in, registering their experiences with regard to disconnections and connections.

The research conducted in this project will be based on a mixed methodological design. Aspects to be considered are focused on:
a) four variables related to identify (freedom, responsibility, self determination and critical thinking), and
b) the effects and possible risks of hyperconnectivity (inevitable or exclusionary).

To complement this, a multi-level comparative study (international and national) will be carried out on the public policies surrounding digitality in educational institutions, in terms of organisation, management and answers regarding the hyperconnectivity phenomenon in youth.

With the results of this project, we hope to construct a theoretical-pedagogical base that brings us closer towards the (re)construction process of the hyperconnected youth's identity, where we will be able to identify pedagogical bases that will guide us in the proposal of training and prevention patterns and rules in the socio-educational field.

Keywords:

Digital identity, hyperconnected, youth, discussion groups, interview, qualitative study.