Digital Sociology Podcast

Holly Powell-Jones is a PhD student at City University London and a former broadcast journalist and educator who is conducting research into the young peoples’ perceptions of risk and criminality online. We talk about her methods of research and how her ethical position informed her approach. For instance, when conducting research she integrates educational aspects which help to inform young people about online criminality and how they can be recognised. Holly tells me about how her participants have made sense of, and made judgements about “sexting” and “revenge porn” amongst other issues and we assess the effectiveness of current legal frameworks in the UK. We touch on issues such as who is considered to be “risky” and what behaviours are considered to be “risky”. Often we assume that younger people are more likely to engage in risky behaviour due to being inexperienced but Holly found that younger people were more risk averse and often “hyper risk managers” who are highly aware of