YouTube as a Source of Informal Learning amongst Indian Adolescents: A Case Study on Online Participatory Culture

Abstract

Children engage with all forms of media to fulfil their developmental, informational and entertainment needs, however, embedding the internet in their lives pertains to it being ‘their’ medium. According to the 2016 Global Kids Online report, one-third of the internet users worldwide are children. In 2019, YouTube had the highest penetration of 82% amongst social networks in India. Moreover, YouTube channels for children are extensively prominent in India, thereby, implying its influx in children’s lives. The dynamics of children’s engagement with YouTube for this study stems from the framework of “Participatory Culture” (Jenkins et al., 2009) in the context of informal learning. Therefore, the research paper attempts to examine the participatory culture of adolescents for educational purposes through case study design and focus group discussion as the research method. The findings of this research underscore that the engagement and participation of adolescents is partial in nature especially from the vantage point of them as consumers and producers in an educational setting.