The Digital Is Kid Stuff: Making Creative Laborers for a Precarious Economy

The Digital Is Kid Stuff examines the ambivalence surrounding discussions about the "digital generation" and the future of creativity in twenty-first-century America, exploring the tension between techno-pessimism and techno-utopianism. It narrates the developmental arc of a future creative laborer, from a young kid playing Minecraft to a young adult imagining technological innovations using design fiction.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 18 January 2022
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

The saying "The children are our future" holds both apprehension and optimism regarding the next generation. In his book, The Digital Is Kid Stuff, Josef Nguyen explores the contradictory attitudes surrounding the "digital generation" and the future of creativity. This ambivalence swings between techno-pessimism, which cautions against the negative effects of excessive screen time on children, and techno-utopianism, which anticipates these "digital natives" driving innovation, economic growth, increased democratization, and national prosperity.

Nguyen delves into cultural histories of childhood, youth, and creativity by anchoring chapters to specific digital media objects or practices. He narrates the developmental journey of a future creative laborer, from a young child engaging with Minecraft's island fictions to an older child learning DIY skills through reading Make magazine, to a teenager posting selfies on Instagram, to a young adult envisioning technological innovations through design fiction.

By focusing on the constructions and valorizations of creativity, entrepreneurship, and technological savvy, Nguyen argues that contemporary culture operates to alleviate profound anxieties about emerging digital technologies and the precarity of employment for "creative laborers" in twenty-first-century neoliberal America. Through his insightful analysis, Nguyen provides a valuable perspective on the complex relationship between technology, youth, and the future of work.

Weight: 332g
Dimension: 151 x 216 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781517911140