Don't blame the youth: The social-institutional and material embeddedness of young people's energy-intensive use of information and communication technology

The intensive use of information and communication technology (ICT) results in increasing levels of consumption of energy and materials. The use of ICT is widespread among young people, and this paper investigates the everyday practices related to their use of ICT (mainly smart phones and laptops). Based on qualitative studies in the Netherlands and Denmark, we find that energy-intensive use of ICT is encouraged through mutually reinforcing social norms, social-institutional embeddedness and scripts regarding their everyday practices. In addition to a lack of awareness of the environmental impact of ICT, this explains why young people in general find it hard to imagine using ICT less to save energy. It is discussed how the material design (scripts) of ICT, e.g. visual/audio message notifications, supports increased use, but also sometimes are opposed by young people through counter script strategies. More generally, young people often have experiences of (social media) communication as being burdensome due to its extent and social expectations of always being accessible. Future policies should target the social-institutional and material context, instead of the individual user, if the aim is to reduce energy consumption from ICT use. The paper combines a practice theoretical approach with STS concepts that foreground the role of materials in shaping practices.