MC440 Half Unit
Children, Youth and Media
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Sonia Livingstone
Availability
This course is available on the MPhil/PhD in Data, Networks and Society, MPhil/PhD in Media and Communications, MSc in Global Media and Communications (LSE and Fudan), MSc in Global Media and Communications (LSE and UCT), MSc in Global Media and Communications (LSE and USC), MSc in Media and Communications, MSc in Media and Communications (Data and Society), MSc in Media and Communications (Media and Communications Governance), MSc in Media and Communications (Research), MSc in Media, Communication and Development, MSc in Politics and Communication and MSc in Strategic Communications and Society. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
How to apply: Priority will normally be given to students enrolled on Media and Communications degree programmes; however, course specific availability is indicated via the 'Availability' section of each individual course guide webpage. The number of students that can be accommodated is limited. If a course is oversubscribed, places will be allocated at the Department's discretion. Students are advised to have an alternative course in mind in case they are unable to secure their first-choice course selection.
A list of all taught master's courses in this Department are listed on the Department's Course Selection and Videos webpage.
Students who have this course listed as compulsory are guaranteed a place and no written statement is required.
For all other students, places on these controlled access courses will be allocated via a random ballot process with priority given to students with the course listed on their programme regulations, followed by other Department of Media and Communications students, then students from elsewhere in the School. By submitting an application, students are confirming that they meet any pre-requisites specified. Providing an additional written statement will not aid a student's chances of being accepted onto a course that does not require a written statement.
Deadline for application: Students required to take this compulsory course will be automatically enrolled on LSE for You.
All other students must apply by 10am UK time on Friday 26 September 2025. No offers will be made before this deadline. Offers will be made after 10am and will continue until all places are filled.
For queries contact: Contact Media.MSc@lse.ac.uk with queries.
Please do not email the teacher with personal expressions of interest as these are not required and do not influence who is offered a place.
This course is 'controlled access', meaning that there is a limit to the number of students who can be accepted. If the course is oversubscribed, offers will be made via a random ballot process, with priority given to students with the course listed on their Programme Regulations. Whilst we do our best to accommodate all requests, we cannot guarantee you a place on this course.
Requisites
Additional requisites:
There are no pre-requisites for this course. Students should apply via LSE for You without submitting a statement.
Please do not email the teacher with personal expressions of interest as these are not required and do not influence who is offered a place.
Course content
In a mediated world, children and young people are subject to considerable hopes and fears from experts, policymakers and the public. Further, children and young people have attracted a considerable multidisciplinary and increasingly global body of research examining their diverse and changing relations with media – especially digital media. This course will critically examine the debates surrounding children, youth and media through the lens of key theories, including moral panics, children’s rights, mediation and mediatization, media effects, child development and socio-cultural approaches. Each year, we will apply these theories, along with relevant evidence, to topical issues relating to childhood and youth – for example, digital play, parental mediation, screen time, online risks and mental health, social media and wellbeing, datafication and digital literacies. The course will also recognise how historical and multidisciplinary perspectives on childhood and youth have been constructed with and through media.
Teaching
10 hours of seminars and 10 hours of lectures in the Winter Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.
Formative assessment
All students are expected to submit one formative essay of 1,500 words in the Winter Term.
Indicative reading
- Banaji, S. (2017). Children and Media in India: Narratives of class, agency and social change. Routledge.
- Buckingham, D., Bragg, S., and Kehily, M.J. (2014) (Eds.) Youth Cultures in the Age of Global Media. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Gee, E., Takeuchi, L., and Wartella, E. (2018). Children and Families in the Digital Age: Learning together in a media saturated culture. Routledge.
- Green, L., Holloway, D., Stevenson, K., Leaver, T, and Haddon, L. (2020) (Eds.) Routledge Companion to Digital Media and Children. Routledge.
- Grimes, S. M. (2021). Digital Playgrounds: The Hidden Politics of Children’s Online Play Spaces, Virtual Worlds, and Connected Games. University of Toronto Press.
- Lemish, D. (ed.) (2022). The Routledge International Handbook of Children, Adolescents, and Media. Routledge, 2nd ed.
- Livingstone, S., and Blum-Ross, A. (2020). Parenting for a Digital Future: How hopes and fears about technology shape children's lives. Oxford University Press.
- Mascheroni, G., and Siibak, A. (2021). Datafied Childhoods: Data practices and imaginaries in children’s lives. Peter Lang.
- Third, A., Collin, P., Walsh, L. and Black, R. (2019). Control Shift: Young people in digital society. Palgrave Macmillan.
Assessment
Essay (100%, 3000 words)
Key facts
Department: Media and Communications
Course Study Period: Winter Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 43
Average class size 2024/25: 14
Controlled access 2024/25: YesCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Leadership
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Communication
- Specialist skills