Formulating transgenerational technology critique as conflictual collaboration

In the fields of technology design studies and human-computer interaction (HCI), participatory technology design involving children has been on the rise. Particularly studies applying and developing the cooperative inquiry methodology or inspired by it are of growing interest to media technology designers. While the underlying impetus of actively involving the intended users in the design process and thereby taking the children as seriously as adult users is laudable, the overarching framing and directionality of the technology design process is rendered unquestionable for the children.
The presentation illustrates that the pristine intention of engaging in intergenerational technology design is potentially helpful for collectively formulating a productive and sustainable technology critique. On the downside the applied methodologies lack viable concepts for meaningfully analyzing its possibilities and limitations. Conflictual collaboration will be presented as a processual-relational concept which sketches out opportunities for formulating a purposeful transgenerational technology critique.