The Digital Lives of Care-experienced Children

There are 107,000 looked-after children in the UK, many of whom face significant barriers to acquiring essential digital skills. As digital technologies increasingly underpin most aspects of daily life, from accessing public services and education, to banking and applying for jobs or housing, understanding how these young people acquire – or fail to acquire – digital skills is increasingly urgent.

Current policy frameworks, including the UK Online Safety Act (OSA) 2023, typically assume that children have stable family support to help them navigate digital spaces safely. The OSA places responsibility on platforms to protect children, while expecting parents to implement controls, monitor online activities, and engage in regular conversations about digital experiences. Such parental efforts play a crucial role in scaffolding the development of children’s digital literacy. In contrast, we know little about how children develop essential digital skills in the absence of long-term, stable family support.

This research will address this gap by answering the following questions:

1. How do the structures of care shape the digital access and digital literacy of care-experienced children?
2. How do the adults supporting these young people balance risk and development of digital capital?
3. How do care-experienced young people exercise agency to overcome any barriers to digital inclusion?
4. What are the most pressing gaps in digital capital of care leavers that make it harder for them to navigate public and private services, employment, and education? How do these young people navigate any gaps in their digital access, knowledge, and experience as they reach adulthood?

• Map the policy and practice landscape regarding digital skill development for care-experienced youth.
• Analyse national survey data to compare digital access and skills between care-experienced and non-care-experienced children.
• Interview care-experienced youth, carers, and professionals to explore how structural and individual factors shape digital skill acquisition.
• Identify systemic barriers and mechanisms influencing digital capital development.
• Collaborate with local authorities and NGOs to inform frontline practice and policy.

Findings will be disseminated through a variety of outputs and activities, including a co-created practical book aimed to support basic digital literacy, practitioner toolkits, and policy roundtables. While focusing on care-experienced young people, the project will offer broader insights about development of digital capital for all young people, particularly those from families with limited digital literacy or resources.

This project has been funded by the Nuffield Foundation, but the views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily the Foundation.

Dr Ekaterina Hertog, Associate Professor of AI and Society at Wadham and at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII), is the Principal Investigator. Dr Victoria Nash, Associate Professor and Senior Policy Fellow at the (OII), is the project's Co-Investigator.

The Oxford Internet Institute – founded in 2001 - is a multidisciplinary research and teaching department of the University of Oxford, dedicated to the social science of the Internet.

There is an exciting opportunity for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join Prof Ekaterina Hertog’s team at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford.  The Digital Lives of Care-Experienced Children project at the Oxford Internet Institute invites applications from enthusiastic and motivated candidates for a postdoctoral position working on cutting-edge research at the intersection of Digital Sociology and Public Policy. This is a full-time, fixed-term position for 24 months or to the funding end date of 31 May 2028. The successful candidate will be expected to start in June 2026. Find out more and apply by 26 February.