Perceptions and Analysis of Digital Risks

Introduction

In recent years, the notion of digital risk has invaded the media. Numerous publications suggest that digital technology is a source of all sorts of threats, whether at the informational, psycho-social, ethical, cognitive, health, technical, socio-economic, legal or environmental level. For example, we can cite the denunciation of the risks of addiction and “techno-addiction” linked to screens among young people¹ or the impoverishment of reading practices² and thought³. This risk-based approach tends to solidify the description of individual and social practices in categories that do not reflect their evolution and diversity, nor the capacity of actors to innovate, which implies taking risks.

The intention of this book is to go beyond a stigmatizing approach to risk. Instead, it is to consider it as the center of discourses, representations and practices. It is necessary to deconstruct and understand it in order to propose tailored support.

According to Ulrich Beck, “risks designate a future that must be prevented from happening”. Real and imaginary at the same time, they are, in his view, “an event that has not yet occurred which motivates action”⁴. This “growing appearance of risk in the world” is also denounced by Patrick Peretti-Watel. For him, risk “is a danger without cause, a damage without fault, which nevertheless becomes predictable and calculable”⁵. The perception of digital risks therefore motivates individuals to act, but how? And in what ways? How ...