Grasping Data: Mapping Out HCI Methods for Children and Young People's Interactions with their Personal Data

Children and young people today are uniquely datafied, tracked, and digitally monitored like no generation before them. Children are increasingly vulnerable to data collection through seemingly benign toys and devices equipped with voice recognition, geolocation, sensors, and cameras, but typically lack awareness or control over these data exchanges, as consent is usually provided by adult caregivers (who may also lack data literacy). Although there have been advancements in legislation and design guidelines, there is a significant need for interdisciplinary approaches to directly empower children in understanding, valuing and benefiting from their personal data, as well as learning to manage it. We ask, how can the CHI community support children to be informed and included in design for and with their personal data? How do we support children to participate in their personal data – and do they want to? This workshop aims to gather designers, researchers and practitioners working on projects relating to children's personal data, and to map out the current practices and methods at play across the CHI community on this critical topic.