Fan worlds as a social opportunity for youngsters: a USI project aims to understand how they work

Many young people interact online with their peers in the context of communities based on shared interests and passions, so-called ‘fan worlds’. With the project "Swiss Fan Worlds and Social Exclusion", winner of an SNSF grant, Eleonora Benecchi, Lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society, aims to understand how children and adolescents who are part of these online communities perceive digital risks, develop social and emotional skills and implement resilience strategies.

Questionnaires, interviews and digital ethnography will be used to understand the nature of digital interactions, investigating their potential and risks.

Eleonora Benecchi, online interactions at a young age are often considered a threat, in your opinion can they also represent a resource?

"Absolutely. It is important to overcome the idea that young people's online activities are only a source of danger. Fan worlds, i.e the digital communities based on sharing passions, represent today for many children and adolescents fundamental spaces of socialisation, expression and learning. In these contexts, young people not only consume content, but also actively participate: they discuss, create, confront and support each other. The "Swiss Fan Worlds and Social Exclusion" project was created precisely to explore this ambivalence: the risks are there, but they can coexist with important opportunities for growth. In fan worlds, young people develop relational competences, empathic skills and resilience strategies, also in response to experiences of social exclusion. Many international studies show this, but up-to-date and specific data on the Swiss context are lacking. Moreover, digital environments have changed: new platforms, new communication styles and new forms of participation require us to update our understanding of these dynamics. This is exactly what we want to do with this research".

Can you help us better understand how interactions within a fan world work and what differentiates them from other social relationships?

"In fan worlds, relationships are built around common passions, such as a TV series, a video game, a book. What makes these spaces special is that they are not based on physical proximity or pre-existing social structures, but on free participation, creativity and mutual recognition. Interactions take place with shared languages and practices that allow participants to feel part of a community. These relationships, compared to traditional ones, are more fluid, more digitally mediated and often more emotionally intense. Fans do not simply consume content, but reinterpret, rework and transform it. In this process, they build memberships and identities. However, this very intensity can also lead to problematic behaviour, forms of exclusion or conflict. This is why it is important to closely observe how young people learn the implicit rules of these environments, how they negotiate what is acceptable and how they manage risks. The project intends to study these aspects as well, in order to better understand the complexity of contemporary digital relationships".

What do you think are some good rules to make children and adolescents' online interactions safe?

"I believe that one of the fundamental rules is to recognise the experience and active role of young people. Too often we think of protection in terms of control or prohibition, but real safety is built by giving boys and girls tools to understand, evaluate and react. This means educating them critically about the digital world, promoting awareness of risks, but also strengthening their ability to deal with them, together. In our project, for example, we will collect the direct experiences of the participants through diaries, observations and interviews: we want to understand what strategies they already implement, how they seek help, how they avoid toxic situations. Listening to their voices is the first step towards building shared, useful and realistic rules. The project also responds to the need to constantly update our knowledge. Digital contexts are constantly evolving, with the emergence of new platforms and modes of interaction. We need to understand what changes, what is confirmed, and how best to accompany young people in their online journey, so that it is safe, but also full of opportunities".