Dimensions of digital precarity: visibility, voice, and vulnerability of Filipino youth

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Authors: Jade Harley C Bretaña, Diana Elizabeth D De Guzman
Cited by: 1
References: 33

Abstract

This article examines how Filipino youth experience digital life through the lens of digital precarity, understood as structurally produced instability, unequal opportunity, and patterned exposure to harm in platformed environments. Drawing on a thematic synthesis of Philippine-based scholarly and institutional literature published between 2012 and 2024, the study consolidates ten topical domains into three analytic dimensions. Visibilities of presence examine who becomes visible online and under what social and material conditions. Voices of participation analyse whose expressions circulate and gain recognition within platform systems. Vulnerabilities of precarity trace how infrastructural fragility, uneven digital literacies, emotional strain, and differential recognition translate into recurring harms. The article advances a Philippines-grounded framework that situates youth digital life within Global South inequalities and Southeast Asia's regional digital ecosystem. Rather than treating youth as uniformly empowered ‘digital natives’, the study shows how visibility, voice, and vulnerability are shaped by class, region, institutional support, and platform governance.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Gender Feminism and Media Social Media and Politics Digital Economy and Work Transformation

Publication details

Journal / source
Media International Australia
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Volume
199
Issue
1
Pages
100–117
Publication date
31 March 2026
Language
EN