| Sumario: | Background: The rising importance of digital technologies in everyday communication has played a key role in processes of political polarization and rising mistrust and intolerance. We suggest this crisis could be productively conceptualized as a crisis in perspective‐taking—the tendency and competency to actively consider others' mental and emotional states. Objectives: This conceptual paper sets out to propose a theoretical framework that identifies the key affordances of digital platforms for promoting perspective‐taking in formal educational settings (K‐12 and higher education): (1) connecting diverse individuals, (2) simulating interactions with other perspectives and (3) supporting the articulation and sharing of perspectives. Methods: Rather than summarizing the state of existing research, this paper aims to offer a novel conceptualization that allows unpacking the interplay between research on perspective‐taking and work on the affordances and constraints of digital media. We identify the three key affordances outlined above, exemplifying them by focusing on one type of digital tool and comparing them along two axes: (i) the depth vs. diversity of interactions it supports and (ii) its cultivation of intergroup perspective‐taking vs. interpersonal perspective‐taking. Results and Conclusions: This framework, we argue, articulates the advantages and limitations of digital tools towards engagement in perspective‐taking, while providing a conceptual roadmap, and practical considerations, for researchers and practitioners interested in cultivating digitally mediated perspective‐taking in educational settings. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Perspective‐taking (PT) involves the ability to consider and understand the thoughts, feelings, and viewpoints of others. Research has shown that PT plays a vital role in interpersonal and intergroup communication, as well as in promoting empathy, understanding, and cooperation, and may impact intergroup relations, negotiations, and stereotype reduction.Educational interventions aim to facilitate meaningful interactions where students engage with others' perspectives, mostly through direct interaction.There are several key challenges that digital media presents towards engagement in PT, including the homogenization of interactions due to the emergence of echo chambers or filter bubbles in which individuals tend to interact mostly with like‐minded individuals, the limited cues for gauging others' perspectives, and the rapid and superficial nature of many digital interactions. What this paper adds: This paper identifies three key affordances offered by digital media for cultivating PT, including the ability to access diverse perspectives and information, engage in collaborative and participatory learning, and use immersive and interactive technologies to simulate real‐world experiences.These affordances can be leveraged to intentionally promote perspective‐taking in formal educational settings.This work presents an analysis of these technological affordances along two key tensions: (a) between the depth of interaction and the diversity of PT targets; and (b) between promoting intergroup and interpersonal PT. Implications for practice and/or policy: This paper provides a conceptual framework for cultivating perspective‐taking in educational settings using digital media.First, fostering intentional connections with diverse others exposes one to a variety of perspectives.Second, the digital simulation of social interactions may provide opportunities for meaningful engagement with other perspectives that are hard to facilitate in non‐digital contexts.Third, articulation of perspectives using online tools enables individuals to deepen their understanding of their own perspective, as well as that of others.
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