Peer-reviewed article
Co-Designing "Teenovate": An Intergenerational Online Safety Design Team
Arianna Davis ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study involved 21 teenagers in designing a participatory design program called Teenovate, where teens and adults collaborate to create technologies for online safety. Researchers used polls, open-ended questions, and group discussions to understand what teens wanted from such a program. Teens were interested in participating as designers but were concerned that adults would not respect their contributions and worried about balancing program participation with their other commitments. The findings led to a framework for involving teenagers as full solution developers on co-design teams.
Key points
- Teens expressed strong interest in participating as designers in online safety solutions, with some wanting to expand to co-researching roles
- Teens prioritized external obligations (school, work, other commitments) over internal desires to participate in the program
- Teens were wary of adult collaborators and wanted assurance that their ideas would be respected, listened to, and actually used to impact online safety solutions
- Participatory design research typically focuses on younger children under 13, but teens have different developmental needs and social dynamics
- A framework was developed placing teens as end-to-end solution developers on dynamic project-based teams with real-world impact
Limitations
This study presents teen perspectives and preferences rather than testing an actual intervention, so it cannot demonstrate whether the proposed Teenovate program framework actually improves online safety outcomes or successfully engages teens in meaningful co-design. The sample of 21 teens is relatively small and the geographic location is limited to the US.
Abstract
The Socio-Technical Interaction Research (STIR) Lab at UCF intends to create a new participatory design program, called "Teenovate," where teenagers and adults work together to design technologies that keep teens safe online. Previous participatory design projects, however, commonly focus on younger children under the age of 13. Teens differ significantly from young children in how they develop, socialize, and perceive the world. To inform the design of Teenovate, so that their unique needs are appropriately met, we conducted a participatory design study with 21 teens using polls, open-ended response questions, and subsequent group discussions. The teens were intrigued by the idea of participating in the Teenovate program as designers, with some expressing a desire to expand to co-researching. However, their established external obligations often took priority over their internal desires to participate in the program. Teens were also wary of working with and contributing ideas to adults, and wanted to ensure that their contributions were respected, listened to, and used to make an impact in online safety solutions. Based on these findings, we propose an approach to adolescent online safety participatory design research through Teenovate that places teens into the role of an end-to-end solution developer on dynamic project-based teams that result in a real-world impact. Our findings helped create a framework for the logistics of involving teens onto an adolescent co-design team.