LUDOVIA continues its exploration of the issues posed by digital technology in educational and recreational practices by drawing on multidisciplinary approaches (education sciences, cognitive sciences, information and communication sciences, arts, computer science, etc.).
Over two decades, the LUDOVIA scientific conference has addressed topics such as immersion, conviviality, DIY practices, space and memory, interactivity and interactions, mobility, pleasure, imagination, creation and consumption, appropriation and diversion, forms of attention, presence and engagement, sharing, exchange, contribution and participation, institutions, representations, injunctions, social issues, ethics, and well-being. This extensive range of themes has resulted in numerous publications in both books and journals.
In 2025, the chosen theme is:
Attention & Participation with Digital Technology
Attention and participation were already discussed at LUDOVIA in 2016. Revisiting these issues in the contemporary context is crucial, as organizations and modes of thought continue to integrate digital technologies and explore generative artificial intelligence. The questions surrounding these themes have evolved, addressing issues such as personal investment, time, self-image, and efficiency.
Attention and participation serve as key indicators in learning and in economies centered on « human brain time availability » (Le Lay, 2004, cited by Bougnoux, 2014: 82). Advances in media and online platforms are transforming how people interact. The quality of presence and cognitive investment, once seen as voluntary and spontaneous, now appears to be encouraged, if not imposed, by schools, businesses, public institutions, media, social networks, and games. These factors are becoming indicators of performance and productivity.
In education, institutions incorporate digital technology into their teaching methods (online or hybrid learning platforms, educational social networks). These digital mediations raise questions about the role of schools and teaching teams in the daily lives of students and their families. They also reshape educational sociability by encouraging engagement with socio-pedagogical systems.
AI could, for example, offer students more personalized support, enhancing their participation without replacing teachers, who continue to act as intermediaries in a « genuine human-machine collaboration » (Cerisier and Pierrot, 2022: 9).
On the other hand, students bring their personal devices into school settings without clear ways to integrate them into the educational process. A rethinking of the school system that considers these devices (Cerisier, 2015) is worth exploring, as their presence blurs the boundaries between daily life and school and extends attention-related dynamics.
While optimists view these technologies as expanding sociability, other perspectives highlight issues such as nomophobia (the fear of missing out on information or experiences), self-marketing pressures, illusions of performance and personal institutionalization, among others. However, mere exposure does not necessarily lead to compulsive repetition of these behaviors.
Such engagement relies, at least partially, on positive perceptions of digital objects and services—whether they are seen as structuring, useful, facilitating learning and communication, or offering the thrill of fake news. Identifying these effects and emphasizing media literacy remains essential (Frau-Meigs, 2021).
In recent works, Serge Proulx (2017, 2020) highlighted the paradox where participation, presented as free, is actually orchestrated and regulated by digital platforms. These platforms can transform even the most mundane contributions into potentially monetizable resources through algorithms. Whether visible or hidden, these mechanisms redirect attention, encourage participation, and raise ethical concerns.
Indeed, immediate gains should not obscure the broader questioning of the Web’s emancipatory and democratic potential—an ideal that remains relevant (Bernholz et al., 2021; Oberforff, 2010). At the same time, this emancipatory potential does not negate the rationalizing effects observed in activist environments (Sedda, 2021).
Attention, understood as a resource and a lever for participation, is subject to capture strategies that result in regulatory effects. Yet, the constant demands for availability, surveillance, competition, and the superficiality of content leading to feelings of guilt and emptiness (Fourquet-Courbet, 2017) are well-known consequences in social spaces and media environments.
Why, then, do these dynamics occupy such a significant place in individuals’ digital activities and within schools? This paradox suggests that while these limitations exist, they simultaneously foster personal innovation, skill acquisition, autonomy, and time management.
The learning models underlying attention and participation dynamics are rooted in ordinary social processes. Mutual aid, solidarity, the need for community belonging, self-esteem, distinction, competition, emotions, and simple conversation (Cardon and Prieur, 2016) have shaped the Web since its inception. Similarly, freedom and market forces work together to drive the development of digital technologies (Cardon, 2019).
For this new edition, we invite researchers from multiple disciplines to look beyond the continuous learning processes required by online attention and participation. We aim to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue about the diversion of spontaneous attention and participation for marketing and performance purposes, the blurring of boundaries between personal, family, and professional time, and their inclusion in educational actions and programs. Ultimately, we are interested in a broader understanding of the paradoxes emerging from the deep entrenchment of digital technology in our daily lives.
Submission Guidelines:
- To submit your proposal, please follow the procedure described here.
- Proposals can be submitted until April 30, 2025. More information: ludovia.fr
