Whitey44
11-21-2008, 12:26 AM
All those hours teens spend on Web aren't wasted
They learn while socializing, study finds
By TAMAR LEWIN
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Good news for worried parents: All those hours their teenagers spend
socializing on the Internet are not a bad thing, according to a new
study by the MacArthur Foundation.
"It may look as though kids are wasting a lot of time hanging out with
new media, whether it's on MySpace or sending instant messages," said
Mizuko Ito, lead researcher on the study, "Living and Learning With New
Media."
"But their participation is giving them the technological skills and
literacy they need to succeed in the contemporary world. They're
learning how to get along with others, how to manage a public identity,
how to create a home page."
The study, conducted from 2005 to last summer, describes new-media usage
but does not measure its effects.
"It certainly rings true that new media are inextricably woven into
young people's lives," said Vicki Rideout, vice president of the Kaiser
Family Foundation, and director of its program for the study of media
and health. "Ethnographic studies like this are good at describing how
young people fit social media into their lives. What they can't do is
document effects. This highlights the need for larger, nationally
representative studies."
Ito, a research scientist in the department of informatics at the
University of California-Irvine, said that some parental concern about
the dangers of Internet socializing may result from a misperception.
"Those concerns about predators and stranger danger have been
overblown," she said. "There's been some confusion about what kids are
actually doing online. Mostly, they're socializing with their friends,
people they've met at school or camp or sports."
The study, part of a $50 million project on digital and media learning,
used several teams of researchers to conduct interviews with more than
800 young people and their parents and to observe teenagers online for
more than 5,000 hours. Because of the adult sense that socializing on
the Internet is a waste of time, the study said, teenagers reported many
rules and restrictions on their electronic hanging out -- but most found
ways to work around such barriers that let them stay in touch with their
friends steadily throughout the day.
"Teens usually have a 'full-time intimate community' with whom they
communicate in an always-on mode via mobile phones and instant
messaging," the study said.
This is not news to a cluster of Bronx teenagers, gathered after school
on Wednesday to tell a reporter about their social routines. All of them
used MySpace and instant messaging to stay in touch with a dozen or two
of their closest friends every evening.
"As soon as I get home, I turn on my computer," said Ruben, 15, who
started his MySpace page four years ago. "My MySpace is always on, and
when I get a message on MySpace it sends a text message to my phone.
It's not an obsession, it's a necessity."
Only one, 14-year old Abi, had ever opted out -- and she lasted only a
week. "It didn't work," she said. "You become addicted. You can't live
without it."
In a situation familiar to many parents, the study describes two
17-year-olds, dating for more than a year, who wake up and log on to
their computers between taking showers and doing their hair, talk on
their cell phones as they travel to school, exchange text messages
through the school day, then get together after school to do homework --
during which time they also play a video game -- talk on the phone
during the evening, perhaps ending the night with a text-messaged "I
love you."
Teenagers also use new media to explore new romantic relationships,
through casual interactions that ensure no loss of face if the other
party is not interested.
The study describes two early "wall posts" -- Facebook messages -- by
teenagers who eventually started dating. First, the girl posted a
message saying "hey ... hm.wut to say? iono lol/well I left you a
comment ... u sud feel SPECIAL haha." (Translation: Hmm ... what to say?
I don't know. Laugh out loud. Well I left you a comment ... You should
feel SPECIAL).
A day later, the boy replied "hello there ... umm I don't know what to
say, but at least I wrote something. ... "
While online socializing is ubiquitous, many young people move on to a
period of exploration, as they look for information online, customize
games, or experiment with digital media production, the study found.
For example, a Brooklyn teenager did a Google image search to look at a
video card and find out where in a computer such cards are, then
installed his own.
What the study calls "geeking out" is the most intense Internet use, in
which young people delve deeply into a particular area of interest,
often through a connection to an online interest group.
"New media allow for a degree of freedom and autonomy for youth that is
less apparent in a classroom setting," the study found. "Youth respect
one another's authority online, and they are often more motivated to
learn from peers than from adults."
They learn while socializing, study finds
By TAMAR LEWIN
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Good news for worried parents: All those hours their teenagers spend
socializing on the Internet are not a bad thing, according to a new
study by the MacArthur Foundation.
"It may look as though kids are wasting a lot of time hanging out with
new media, whether it's on MySpace or sending instant messages," said
Mizuko Ito, lead researcher on the study, "Living and Learning With New
Media."
"But their participation is giving them the technological skills and
literacy they need to succeed in the contemporary world. They're
learning how to get along with others, how to manage a public identity,
how to create a home page."
The study, conducted from 2005 to last summer, describes new-media usage
but does not measure its effects.
"It certainly rings true that new media are inextricably woven into
young people's lives," said Vicki Rideout, vice president of the Kaiser
Family Foundation, and director of its program for the study of media
and health. "Ethnographic studies like this are good at describing how
young people fit social media into their lives. What they can't do is
document effects. This highlights the need for larger, nationally
representative studies."
Ito, a research scientist in the department of informatics at the
University of California-Irvine, said that some parental concern about
the dangers of Internet socializing may result from a misperception.
"Those concerns about predators and stranger danger have been
overblown," she said. "There's been some confusion about what kids are
actually doing online. Mostly, they're socializing with their friends,
people they've met at school or camp or sports."
The study, part of a $50 million project on digital and media learning,
used several teams of researchers to conduct interviews with more than
800 young people and their parents and to observe teenagers online for
more than 5,000 hours. Because of the adult sense that socializing on
the Internet is a waste of time, the study said, teenagers reported many
rules and restrictions on their electronic hanging out -- but most found
ways to work around such barriers that let them stay in touch with their
friends steadily throughout the day.
"Teens usually have a 'full-time intimate community' with whom they
communicate in an always-on mode via mobile phones and instant
messaging," the study said.
This is not news to a cluster of Bronx teenagers, gathered after school
on Wednesday to tell a reporter about their social routines. All of them
used MySpace and instant messaging to stay in touch with a dozen or two
of their closest friends every evening.
"As soon as I get home, I turn on my computer," said Ruben, 15, who
started his MySpace page four years ago. "My MySpace is always on, and
when I get a message on MySpace it sends a text message to my phone.
It's not an obsession, it's a necessity."
Only one, 14-year old Abi, had ever opted out -- and she lasted only a
week. "It didn't work," she said. "You become addicted. You can't live
without it."
In a situation familiar to many parents, the study describes two
17-year-olds, dating for more than a year, who wake up and log on to
their computers between taking showers and doing their hair, talk on
their cell phones as they travel to school, exchange text messages
through the school day, then get together after school to do homework --
during which time they also play a video game -- talk on the phone
during the evening, perhaps ending the night with a text-messaged "I
love you."
Teenagers also use new media to explore new romantic relationships,
through casual interactions that ensure no loss of face if the other
party is not interested.
The study describes two early "wall posts" -- Facebook messages -- by
teenagers who eventually started dating. First, the girl posted a
message saying "hey ... hm.wut to say? iono lol/well I left you a
comment ... u sud feel SPECIAL haha." (Translation: Hmm ... what to say?
I don't know. Laugh out loud. Well I left you a comment ... You should
feel SPECIAL).
A day later, the boy replied "hello there ... umm I don't know what to
say, but at least I wrote something. ... "
While online socializing is ubiquitous, many young people move on to a
period of exploration, as they look for information online, customize
games, or experiment with digital media production, the study found.
For example, a Brooklyn teenager did a Google image search to look at a
video card and find out where in a computer such cards are, then
installed his own.
What the study calls "geeking out" is the most intense Internet use, in
which young people delve deeply into a particular area of interest,
often through a connection to an online interest group.
"New media allow for a degree of freedom and autonomy for youth that is
less apparent in a classroom setting," the study found. "Youth respect
one another's authority online, and they are often more motivated to
learn from peers than from adults."