Despite what we see in news headlines, there is no single term that people who share nude photos use, according to Australian researcher and author Nina Funnell, who has interviewed some 4 dozen 16-to-25-year-olds about it. Especially not "sexting," she said in a talk I got to hear in Sydney this spring (their fall). Using the term tends to alienate young people, she said. And there are many more … [Read more...] about ‘Noodz,’ ‘selfies,’ ‘sexts,’ etc., Part 1: A spectrum of motivations
social media research
Net use: How young Australians line up with kids in 25 other countries
Australian young people are highly connected people, on the whole. Part of the reason, probably, is that they're such mobile users. They're "disproportionately likely" to be online with a smartphone or other handheld device, according to the AU Kids Online report. "Whereas 46% of Australian [9-to-16-year-olds] say they access the Internet via a smart handheld device other than a basic mobile … [Read more...] about Net use: How young Australians line up with kids in 25 other countries
Connected learning reality check from the UK & US
By the sound of it, there are significant barriers to connected learning in UK schools too – maybe bigger ones. I'm referring to hurdles pointed out by Sonia Livingstone at the London School of Economics in a presentation she gave for the Connected Learning Research Network about "The Class," her ethnographic study of the connected lives of British middle-schoolers. For the past year, Sonia and … [Read more...] about Connected learning reality check from the UK & US
Thoughts on social media time-outs (for all ages)
I can see why Pew Internet looked only at Facebook for its just-released study, since it's the 600-pound gorilla of online socializing in the US and now used by 67% of US adults. Pew found that 61% of those Facebook users say that at some point they've "voluntarily taken a break" from using the site for several weeks or more, and 20% of the online adults who don't use Facebook "say they once used … [Read more...] about Thoughts on social media time-outs (for all ages)
What we know & don’t know about kids’ online socializing: Key study
Imagine a game in which a child not only discovers, collects, creates, and/or customizes 2- and 3-dimensional art objects that s/he then shares with fellow player-creators, but also creates his/her own levels of play. Imagine the literacies players could be developing in the process of playing such a game, including social literacy, through sharing, "liking," and reviewing each other's … [Read more...] about What we know & don’t know about kids’ online socializing: Key study