This is and isn't about technology. Mostly isn't. But digital media allow for and expose a dangerous blend of two very different aspects of humanness, one destructive, the latter normative: social cruelty and teenage vulnerability (a lot of focus recently having been on the female variety). The cruelty, the extreme version called trolling – which feeds on outrage and weaponizes cultural … [Read more...] about Teens, social media & trolls: Toxic mix
teens
Instagram: Teens’ alternative to texting, FB?
Shades of social media researcher danah boyd's finding on teens' "social steganography" (hiding in plain sight): The Daily reports (about halfway into a 2-min. video) that, because so many parents are now monitoring their kids on Facebook and checking their texts, "an enormous amount of teenagers" are using Instagram to take random photos just so they can chat privately in the comments under them. … [Read more...] about Instagram: Teens’ alternative to texting, FB?
Teens flocking to Twitter for privacy?
Now that so many parents are on Facebook, teens are defying predictions and adding Twitter to their social toolboxes, according to an article at MSNBC. The number of teens using Twitter has doubled in the past two years, to 16% of 12-to-17-year-olds last July (the latest data available), the article cites the Pew Internet & American Life Project as finding. "Teens tout the ease of use and the … [Read more...] about Teens flocking to Twitter for privacy?
Teens’ cellphone data use tripled in past year
On average, teens exchange 3,417 messages per month, or "seven text messages per waking hour," Nielsen found in an analysis of data from more than 65,000 cellphone subscribers. Teens have "tripled their data use in the past year," but "data use across all age groups nearly doubled," the Washington Post reports in its coverage. "Survey participants ages 13-17 used an average of 90 MB per month in … [Read more...] about Teens’ cellphone data use tripled in past year
Sexting much rarer than thought to be: Study
Parents, you'll probably appreciate knowing that young people are engaging in sexting a lot less than previously thought and that arrest is not typical in youth sexting cases. To help doctors and all the rest of us better understand the risks to youth of sexting, the authors of a national survey of US 10-to-17-year-olds just published in the medical journal Pediatrics aimed not only to get a … [Read more...] about Sexting much rarer than thought to be: Study