Five years ago was, I think, was the first time I wrote about young Net users needing to be good spin doctors and get in touch with their inner political consultants. I was thinking more about protecting reputations and future prospects than opportunities to run for office. But now we've had the first election in which politicians have had to confront the social-Web skeletons in their closets, the … [Read more...] about The social Web, reputations & an election
Check out our new ‘Parents’ Guide to Facebook’!
We ConnectSafely folk are pleased (and excited) to tell you about our new little Facebook guide for parents, educators, and everybody looking for the basics on the world's most popular social networking site – what it is, why young people use it, how to turn it into a great parenting tool, and how to optimize its privacy settings for teens. I started NetFamilyNews 11 years ago on the premise that … [Read more...] about Check out our new ‘Parents’ Guide to Facebook’!
Parenting & overparenting in the digital age
What struck me about danah boyd's post about the helicopter-parenting of social media users was that the banning of Facebook forces young people "to choose between social status and parental obedience." Though I wouldn't put it exactly that way, my own parenting experience tells me she's right. My 18-year-old and 13-year-old both use Facebook, although (and quite naturally) differently, because … [Read more...] about Parenting & overparenting in the digital age
Today’s ‘low barrier to participation”
Those are media professor Henry Jenkins's words in a talk he gave to USC students' parents this fall about "raising the digital generation." It's good to be reminded that Facebook, MySpace, (or Hyves, studiVZ, or Tuenti in Europe, for example) are not the all of social media for youth – that today's highly interactive, global digital media lower the barrier of participation in all sorts of … [Read more...] about Today’s ‘low barrier to participation”
Fresh insights into teen social media use
Facebook for Facebook's sake – for something to do – is one way some teens use the site, some in wealthier Nashville communities, for example, according to some early observations in social media researcher danah boyd's current field work. "Teens who are more likely to be stuck at home ... are ... much more likely to sit and chat on Facebook because it’s Facebook." They're also texting at … [Read more...] about Fresh insights into teen social media use