Generation X, Y and Z and digital language practices: Intra- and intergenerational meaning-making, adaptation and attitudes (XYZdigi)

(The web page is also available in Finnish and Swedish.)

The sociolinguistic research project XYZdigi examines whether there are generational differences in Finland-Swedish digital language practices, how different generations understand and possibly adapt to each other and how they experience each other's digital language practices. The project's focus is on 15–25-year-olds (younger), about 40–50-year-olds (middle-aged) and language users that are over 65 years (older). The Finland-Swedish digital language practices from the mid-2020s are also compared with those of Sweden-Swedish, Finnish and Danish language users.

Data collection in XYZdigi takes place in three stages:

1. ethnographic fieldwork in Finland and Denmark (2025–2026, with a focus on Finland-Swedish and Danish digital language practices)
2. role-play experiments in Finland (2026–2027, with a focus on Finland-Swedish digital language practices)
3. a sociolinguistic survey in Finland, Sweden and Denmark (2027, with a focus on Finland-Swedish, Finnish, Sweden-Swedish and Danish digital language practices). 

The project is based in the University of Jyväskylä (Åsa Palviainen as the project leader) and carried out in collaboration with the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. The project is financed by the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland (2025–2028).

Current news in fall 2025 – we're looking for research participants!

We're currently looking for Finland-Swedish research participants to interview during the ethnographic fieldwork in Finland (stage 1 of the data collection in XYZdigi, see above). We want to interview people about their own styles and ways of communicating digitally. We also want to know about their thoughts and experiences regarding digital communication, partly with people of the same generation and partly between people of different generations. Furthermore, we will ask people to share some examples of their authentic digital conversations, so that we can examine the digital language use more closely.

Here below you will find more information about the research at stage 1 via the research notification for the research participants and the privacy notice. If you would like to participate in the study, please contact XYZdigi's project member at the University of Jyväskylä (Kira Heiskanen, kira.a.heiskanen@jyu.fi, +358 50 596 8731 or Åsa Palviainen, asa.palviainen@jyu.fi, +358 40 805 3217). Please note that participation in stage 1 doesn't require participation in any other stages of the project.