It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens - Danah Boyd

Networked Sociality

'Most teenagers now go online to connect to the people in their community. Their online participation is not eccentric; it is entirley normal, even expected'

'Although the specific technologies change, they collectivley provide teens with a space to hang out and connect with friends'

'Social media has enabled them to participate in and help create what I call networked publics.' 

'Networked publics are publics that are restructured by networked technologies. As such, they are simutaneously (1) the space constructed through networked technologies and (2) the imagined community that emerges as a result of the intersection of people, technology and practice.'

'Rather than being seen as a subcultural practice, participating in social media became normative'

'Social media services like Facebook and Twitter are providing teens with new opportunities to participate in public life, and this, more than anything else, is what concerns many anxious adults.' 

Four affordances, in particular, shape many of the mediated environments that are created by social media. They are as follows:

Persistence - the durability of online expressions and content 

Visibility - the potential audience who can bear witness

Spreadability - the ease with which content can be shared

Searchability - the ability to find content 

'Persistence means that conversations conducted through social media are far from ephemeral; they endure.' 

'In networked publics, interactions are often public by default, private through effort' 

'What is new is the way in which social media alters and amplifies social situations by offering technical features that people can use to engage in these well-established practices' 

'Many adults I meet assume that their own childhoods were better and richer, simpler and safer, than the digitally mediated ones contemporary youth experience. They assoicate the rise in digital technology with decline - social, intellectual, and moral. The research I present here suggests that the opposite is often true.' 

'All too often, it is easier to focus on the technology than on the broader systematic issues that are at play because technical changes are easier to see.' 

'Consider, for example, the widespread concern over internet addiciton. Are there teens who have an unhealthy relationship with technology? Certainly. But most of those who are 'addicted' to their phones or computers are actually focused on staying connected to friends in a culture where getting together in person is highly constrained.' 

'Networked publics allow them a measure of privacy ad autonomy that is not possible at home where parents and siblings are often listening in' 

'What drive-ins were to teens in the 50's and the mall in the 1980's, Facebook, texting, Twitter and instant messaging and other social media are to teens now.' 

'The success of social media must be understood partly in relation to this shrinking social landscape.' 

'Teens told me time and again that they would far rather meet up in person, but the hectic and heavily scheduled nature of their day-to-day lives, their lack of physical mobility, and the fears of their parents have made such face to face interactions increasingly impossible.' 

'The ability to understand how context, audience and identity intersect is one of the central challenges people face in learning how to navigate social media.' 

Interpersonal relationships 

Root of anxiety about social media addiction - how easily time slips away - easy to become absorbed - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi 'flow state' - time dissapears, attention focuses and people feel euphorically engaged - ideal state for creativity/artistry/athletes/actors to harness performance - also experienced when gambling/playing video games/interacting with social media - deep engagement does not seem to be a problem in and of itself unless coupled with a practice that is socially unacceptable, physically damaging or financially costly 

'Teen 'addiction' to social media is a new extension of typical human engagement' 

Ivan Goldberg - internet addiction disorder - satirical essay - intending to parody societys obsession with pathologizing everyday behaviours, inadvertently advanced the idea

'Anyone who engages in a practice in ways that society sees as putting more socially acceptable aspects of their lives in jeopardy are seen as addicted'

'Being 'addicted' to information and people is part of the human condition: it arises from a healthy desire to be aware of surrounding and to connect to society.' 

'Social media - far from being the seductive trojan horse - is a release valve, allowing youth to reclaim meaningful sociality as a tool for managing the pressures and limitations around them.' 

'As they make their way toward adulthood, teens need to learn how to engage in crucial aspects of maturations: self presentation, managing social relationships, and developing an understanding of the world around them. The structured and restrictive conditions that comprise the lives of many teens provideds little room for them to explore these issues, but social media gives them a platform and a space where they can make up for what's lost.'

'By exploring broad networks of people and diverse types of content, teens can easily get access to values and ideas that differ from what their parents try to instill.'

'Media narratives often propagate the notion that engagement with social media is destructive, even as eductional environments increasingly assume that teens are networked. Many adults put pressure on teens to devote more time toward adult-prioritized practices and less time socializing, failing to recognize the important types of learning that take place when teens do connect. When teens orient themselves away from adults and toward their peers, parents often grow anxious and worried about their childrens future. The answer to disconnect between parent goals and teen desires is not rhetoric that pathologizes teen practices, nor is it panicked restrictions on teen sociality. Rather, adults must recognize what teens are trying to achieve and work with them to find balance and to help them think about what they are encountering.' 

Analysis:

Both Boyd and Turkle have explored the idea of a 'flow' state but in juxtaposed circumstances. Turkle argues that social media and constant connectivity interrupts the flow state and decreases concentration whilst Boyd argues that getting lost in social media for seemingly endless amounts of time is just another example of people slipping into a 'flow' state of full engagement. 

Boyd seems to be focusing on the positive aspects of social media and how networking sites are allowing teens/young adults to engage and connect where as Turkle seems to be focusing on the negative effects of this constant connection. Boyd argues that social media allows the youth to reclaim sociality and offers social media as a 'public space' where people can 'hang out' and 'spend time' with friends. Turkle argues on the other hand that this constant connection with friends and accquaintences is leading to diminished relationships, lack of complexity of emotions and lack of empathy towards other people. 

Although social media may allow for a 'public space' in which communication and connection can be reached, are these communications real? Do they have substance? Or are they simplifed and reduced versions of real face-to-face relationships?