Although, Boyd (2009) states that her “primary goal is simply to unveil some of the common ways in which teenagers now experience social life online” (p.121), her findings have greater implications for what she terms, “the civil society of teenage culture” (p.121) – namely, MySpace.
There is absolutely nothing that is going to convince me that children, teenagers, youth, young people, kids – whatever you choose to call them – should use social networking sites or the Internet to explore their identities. Explore the world, yes; interact with others, yes; but the formation of identity is rooted in the fundamentals of what they value. And I am not ashamed to say that the foundation of a stable identity originates and proceeds from family.
The problem: The “cultural resonance amongst American teens” (Boyd, 2009, 119) today is fraught with parental abandonment/absenteeism, neglect, abuse, divorce, indifference and an overall inability on the part of adults to impart a system of values that does not change with personal preference – what you they feel at the moment.
Let me answer Boyd’s question frankly: Teenagers flock to social networking sites like flies because no one is on the home front paying any attention to them; or guiding them in a direction that ensures them that they exist even if they don’t have a profile on MySpace. What is more, many adults flock to these social networking sites for the same reasons – they need personal affirmation. What a tragedy! Have technological advances clouded our senses? Are we to consent to raising children, guiding young people, and creating a future that we can be proud on the Internet? Via social networking sites? Indeed we, as a nation, are in great need of a transformation – and not a digital one!
A great example of responsibly using social networking sites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZmWI5yTDOc&feature=related
Take a look at this video for parents about why teens use social networking sites from a teen's point of view. I think this teenage epitomizes why we need to help teens keep a safe balance with using these sites.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6YT6sEDZiE
Let’s get down to the root of this issue. Boyd makes considerable sense here by posing these questions: What are youth learning from their participation in social networking sites, and what are the implications for youth identities? These two statements are particularly revealing to me, “those with continuous nighttime access at home spend more time surfing the network, modifying their profile, collecting friends, and talking to strangers”; and “Older boys are twice as likely to use the sites to flirt”(Boyd, 2009, p.121).
Adults need to be adults by making sure that teenagers are making safe choices about what they do and say on the Internet – to include the participation in social networking sites.
“To discipline and reprimand a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child” Proverbs 29:15.
At the expense of creating a free space for teenagers to express themselves without restraint, we ignore truth and wisdom. How then can we expect youth people (who should model our behavior) to use sound judgment, when we, as adults, refuse to do so in these matters? I realize that we are discussing these issues in an academic setting, but we cannot become so lofty in our ideas that we loose our common sense.
Link to the article discussed in this blog post (Boyd, 2009): http://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/dmal/-/6
Hi Tracey,
ReplyDeleteAs always you challenge us with your polemic of the issue at hand! You have certainly given me much food for thought about a kind of capitulation by adults to "students using SNS to explore issues of identity", and the associated fact that many adults are doing the very same thing. I do strongly agree with you that much of this is in part related to the breakdown of the moral fabric of our society where the role of parents, home and family are seemingly being replaced by the internet & SNS's. My concern though is rooted in a realization that because of the widespread use by teens and adults of SNS, and the fact that this will likely continue.....how can our teens (and adults)use such sites without it affecting their values and their identity issues? Due to the very nature of how one participates in SNS, might it seem a bit of a paradox to assume that it would not affect values and identity issues. Do you have any ideas? Thalia
Hi Tracey....I forgot to mention....great video clips....truly enlightening...I think every parent needs to see them! Thalia
ReplyDeleteTracey,
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly with you that digital spaces should not be free of parental involvement and that discovering one's identity in an adultless vacuum can be dangerous. However, I think that part of the experience of growing up is trying on identities and that Facebook etc. are another expression of something that teens have always done and will always do. Now, that doesn't mean that I plan to turn my kids loose to run rampant all over the internet! However, I was raised by parents with a very clear set of values who had very high expectations of me (behavior, ethics etc.)who still allowed me latitude to explore different identities. They watched, they advised and sometimes they put their collective feet down.
I also think that there can be value in a sense of community created online for those who are unsupported in their home lives. Not all teens have involved parents who support and guide them in healthy ways. Sometimes they come from toxic environments instead of loving and ethical ones. For those teens, the benefit of an online community (even with its inherent dangers) might outweigh the risks.
Accountability matters, both for teens and adults!
Tracey,
ReplyDeleteYour post is a clarion call for social responsibility and ethical standards for users of the Internet. The Internet by itself is an information infrastructure that is devoid of ethical standards in my opinion. Sites such as MySpace and Facebook have ethical “protocols” which form a basis of acceptable standards with the promise of safety however; such promises must be tempered by reality there is no real safe environment due to the widely diverse behaviors of its users.
There are many positive ways in which young people have applied Internet services, both inter-personal communication (social networking), and information access functions. Supposing that the Internet is the sole source for forming youth identity is to suppose that all external influences are non-existent. Ridiculous! Impossible! And probably not what Boyd had in mind.
The essence of virtual communities is that they provide an opportunity for individuals to share thoughts, experiences, and to build something that is greater than the sum of themselves - a shared ethos. One of the aspects you identified is the recurring expectation of greater freedoms by youth involvement with social network sites. Herein lies the wisdom of education and supervision by peers, friends, parents, teachers, and others who have the youth’s best interests at heart. Thank you for reminding us of the socio-ethical responsibilities we share as citizens of the Internet.