As the parent of a teenager who is involve in social networking I find that the article Why Youth Love Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Public in Teenage Social Life, Danah Boyd provided me with a better understanding behind the reasons why teens engage in this kind of activity. For example, we live in a small community where places for teenagers to hangout are limited (although it seems that there are limited spaces for teens even in urban areas) and social network site (SNS) provide a venue for teens to hangout. Moreover, according to the author, social interaction with peers, in a SNS helps teens develop an identity and social skills by making decisions on what to post and how to interpret what is being said by others. I see that communication and interactions in cyberspace are not radically different than those in the “real” world. I see how teens would post on their pages things that can be outrageous to parents, but they say them too outside of a social network site. As I read the article by Boyd I see that the “drama” of social interactions among teens is not different in these places. Furthermore, bullying is another problem that takes place in these sites as well as outside of them. The difference is the persistence property of SNS. A hurtful comment or an embarrassing photo find posterity in these sites and kids can be humiliated by many in a perseverative way. Here is where one of my concerns lies under a recent event of children taking their own life after being bullying in these networks.
As I read the story of Sabrina and her father I wonder how teens felt about being friends with authority figures in their life. I came across the posting “Should Large Social Networks Give Teens Their Space Back?” in ypulse.com (http://www.ypulse.com/should-large-social-networks-give-teens-their-space-back). Although there are very few comments posted it seems that the controversy over having their own space is an important one for teens.
Lastly, I thought about the book “21st Century Skills. Learning for Life in our Times” by Trilling and Fadel (2009) in which the world in twenty years is described as, “A “smaller world,” more connected by technology and transport” (p. XXV). However, as reported by Boyd interactions among different cultures, languages, and even social status are not the norm. I understand that teens become friends online with those friends offline, but I wonder if they would be willing to befriend teens from other backgrounds and develop the 21st. century social skills of communication and collaboration that Trilling and Fadel mentioned are necessary to “work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams” (p. 55).
Trilling, B., and Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills; Learning for life in our times. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Melvina, I found your last sentences so powerful! This brought up some ideas for me regarding intercultural or cross-cultural communication. Many social norms and cues are implicit or associated with the body. When teens are communicating (possibly friending) others of different backgrounds, I wonder whether these intricacies are recognized, passed over, challenged, or eliminated. The irony of "21st century social skills" that Trilling and Fadel champion and the actual restrictive spaces being created used and explored on these types of sites is hard to ignore.
ReplyDeleteI belong to Facebook, which by the way I enjoy. I often need those cues I gather from body language to gain a better understanding of what someone is saying. Perhaps, the fact that I am an English learner accentuates it.
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