“The internet is a reflection of society and that mirror is going to be reflecting what we see. If we do not like what we see in that mirror the problem is not to fix the mirror, we have to fix society.” Danah Boyd quoted computer scientist Vint Cerf in her book, “It's Complicated: the Social Lives of Connected Teens and I see that quote as one of the major messages she sends throughout the book. Boyd says that for the most part, “teens who are struggling in everyday life also engage in problematic encounters online.” Instead of pointing the fingers at the teens we need to, especially as adults, step in and help guide youth who may not know how to act appropriately online.
Another big take away that I had from her book was “just because the internet- and social media- is pervasive in American society does not mean that everyone will have access, will want access, or will experience access in the same way.” While technology is completely transforming the world around us, not everyone is able to fully access that transformation. A third point that stuck out to me was that for those youth that are accessing social media or the simply using technology in everyday life- still need explicit instruction on how to use technology. “Developing wisdom, states Boyd requires active learning...many of the media literacy skills needed to be digitally savvy require a level of engagement that goes far beyond what the average teen picks up hanging out with friends on Facebook and Twitter.” In other words, just because they are digital natives does not mean we can skip over key instructional pieces. My final take away, even though they were many great pieces of information was her discussion on overcoming fear. She says, “When parents create cocoons to protect their children from potential harms, their decision to separate themselves and their children from what’s happening outside their household can have serious consequences for other youth, especially those who lack strong support systems. Communities are not safe when everyone turns inward’ they are only safe when people work collectively to help one another and those around them.”
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KellyI like people. I love their stories even more. Archives
August 2015
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