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Marion Walton points to an interesting and sensible conversation about MySpace between UC-Berkeley PhD student danah boyd and MIT's Henry Jenkins....
In her post, Marion mulls over some related yet compelling issues:
* If calls to restrict access to certain sites (like MySpace) from schools and libraries are successful, would those children who have to rely on public facilities for internet access be at a disadvantage?
Quoting Henry Jenkins: "What a kid can do at home with unlimited access is very different from what a kid can do in a public library with ten or fifteen minutes of access at a time and with no capacity to store and upload information to the web. We further handicap these children by placing filters on the Internet which restrict their access to information which is readily available to their more affluent classmates. And now this legislation would restrict their ability to participate in social networks or to belong to online communities. The result will be to further isolate children from poorer economic backgrounds, to cut kids at risk from support systems which exist within their peer culture, and to limit the social and cultural experiences of kids who are already behind in acquiring important networking skills that will shape their professional futures. All of this will compound what we are now calling the participation gap."
Jenkins suggests that the authors of such laws "are reading MySpace and other social software exclusively in terms of their risks; they are not focusing on the opportunities they offer for education and personal growth. In protecting children from those risks, they would cut them off from those educational benefits."
* So Marion, who teaches at the University of Cape Town, wonders: "Are South African children really missing out on new forms of online cultural capital? To what extent will a lack of knowledge of social networking practices hinder their social mobility? What happens when we replace the idea of a 'digital divide' with the idea of a 'participation gap'?"
Presumably, her concerns would apply to children from any country that doesn't offer the same level of Internet access as most American children have.
* Finally, why are US parents so good at being afraid for all the wrong reasons? ("Remember that these same terrified people happily drive SUVs and vote for G.W. Bush," Marion writes. "What's a greater threat to the future of their children? Some steamy text chat or their current level of carbon emissions?")
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Comments
Hmmmm... a really interesting topic. I would probably take Marion's points even more to heart if she didn't throw in that SUV comment in there. Seemed a bit gratuitous and slightly "holier than thou"...
Posted by: David Armano | 06.01.06
I'm not sure about the "educational" power of Myspace.
And as for the lack of access to Myspace inhibiting social development...ummm... ??? What did we do to develop socially prior to Myspace?????? I grew up in a top-rate educational system before the internet was around, and we managed to learn and find information from these weird little things with paper and things called "pages." They called them "books." Archaic, I know, but some of you might remember them.
As a social libertarian, I'm against laws restricting access to information. However, as a human being, I say get the kids off the computer and out in the playgrounds and yards so they can exercise and play with their friends!
Posted by: J.D. Matthews | 06.01.06
While I would not see MySpace as an educational space per se, it is certainly a cultural force whether we like it or not. And let's be clear ... young kids know about it and are finding their way into and around MySpace. We need to actively educate them on responsible engagement and use.
Posted by: Servant of Chaos | 06.02.06
Thanks for your comments, all. To JD and SOC, the debate over MySpace access isn't really centered on "education" in its traditional sense of conjugating verbs and long division. It's more about a comfort level and access to social and cultural experiences that increasingly kids need to be part of the larger, networked world. The concern is that poorer kids would be (as Jenkins says) further isolated and cut-off from the mainstream, and limited in their ability to network with kids who do have access to MySpace and other sites. It's basically looking at MySpace as a place to acquire social networking and technology skills, and to grow a little.
Kids certainly need to have a comfort level with technology and networking skills, as much as they need to run around the backyard in the sunshine. And you're right, SOC, part of allowing access is to educate them on responsible engagement and use.
Posted by: Ann Handley | 06.02.06
"To what extent will a lack of knowledge of social networking practices hinder their social mobility?" Are you kidding me? What parent in their right mind would rely on the internet to teach their children social networking or skills? Last I checked being social, is being part of a community. So, as a parent of one of the "less affluent" children who did not have at home internet access until a year or so ago, I ponder the idea of "internet isolation".
I can't tell you the number of friends my son had that would remain glued to the internet for hours on end. They now are the ones that cannot look a person in the eye when speaking to them as they've not had the social interaction in their formative years.
Let's back up the bus here and remember that it is up to the parents to ensure their children are being taught social skills, not the internet. Agreed, children these days need to know technology. How it works, what it can do for them. But working at a major corporation, I can see the difference in the "digital" kids coming into the business now. They send email instead of just talking to a person. We have to remember that businesses across the globe cannot operate without human interaction.
I think we can get by without learning social skills from "MySpace." Talking trashy with friends online does not do anything for any kid. Just my opinion.
Posted by: Ann Heisler | 06.06.06
One of our interns is in high school. He isn't allowed to use the internet to do research for his term papers. Bleh.
While I understand the value of teaching kids to use libraries and traditional research methods, I wonder how this helps prepare them for the workplace they will be joining in 4-5 years.
(Who in your office drives to the library to do research?)
That being said, I'm not sure that Myspace carries a whole lot of value as a research tool. (Or at least not yet.)
Posted by: olivier blanchard | 06.07.06
Thanks so much for your comments -- and Hi..the other AnnH! : )
A few comments:
1. It's not an either/or situation. No one says MySpace (or ANY web-based social network) should be the sole tool for social skills, or for research, or whatever... In other words, I agree with you, Ann: my son has friends that can't look me in the eye when I ask them if they want another slice of pizza. But at the same time, the internet is an important social tool, and it seems to me that ensuring equal access (where we can) makes sense.
2. It's about access and awareness. The Internet is increasingly being integrated into all aspects of our lives, and -- going forward -- into the lives of our kids. MySpace is but one example of the sort of networking/technology issues kids should be comfortable with as they grow -- and that includes being aware of the dangers and limitations of such tools.
So the issue is, how do we ensure that all kids have access to MySpace or other internet tools -- again: IF they want it, or *to whatever degree* their parents allow it? How do we ensure that the so-called digital divide doesn't give the haves more of an edge than they already have, casting out the "-nots"?
Posted by: Ann Handley | 06.09.06