New Media is Good for Youth - Like eVitamins

If you missed I (I certainly did) the Chronicle of Higher Ed talked about a Report on New Media where it kinda pokes fun at institutions of higher ed. Yay!

"... debate promises to be fierce on how exactly educational institutions should recognize this youth culture.

Some secondary schools and libraries, for example, limit access to social-networking sites and ban cellphones. The report argues implicitly that bans aren’t the answer, and that young people are learning despite -- not because of -- the environments that parents and educators want them to operate within.

"Youth could benefit from educators being more open to forms of experimentation and social exploration that are generally not characteristic of educational institutions," the authors write."

The report of which they speak, are the recent findings from a long study hosted by The MacArthur Foundation from the Digital Youth Research. A major finding about youth and their relationship to new media was that

"teens and their use of digital media show that America’s youth are developing important social and technical skills online – often in ways adults do not understand or value.

Contrary to popular belief, spending time on xBox Live and Facebook are neither corrupting the brains of youth nor are these sites encouraging isolating bahvior. Rather, these tools are helping both educate and connect youth.

According to the head researcher of the project Dr. Mizuko Ito

"There are myths about kids spending time online – that it is dangerous or making them lazy. But we found that spending time online is essential for young people to pick up the social and technical skills they need to be competent citizens in the digital age."

See her full interview here:

The details of the study show the researchers interviewed over 800 young people and their parents, both one-on-one and in focus groups; spent over 5000 hours observing teens on sites such as MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and other networked communities; and conducted diary studies to document how, and to what end, young people engage with digital media.

From this they created two categories of interaction of young people online: 1. Friendship driven and 2. Interest driven. This is what it sounds like with friendship drive being around social groups and peer circles and interest driven groups are around specific information or groups that aren't local friend groups perhaps bands or X-Files addicts... things like that... Not that I'd know...

The release shows a few significant findings I'd like to highlight.

1. "There is a generation gap in how youth and adults view the value of online activity.
• Adults tend to be in the dark about what youth are doing online, and often view online activity as risky or an unproductive distraction.
• Youth understand the social value of online activity and are generally highly motivated to participate.
2. "Youth are navigating complex social and technical worlds by participating online.
3. Young people are motivated to learn from their peers online.
• The Internet provides new kinds of public spaces for youth to interact and receive feedback from one another. (this sounds right out of the mouth of Danah Boyd who was on the research team)
• Young people respect each other’s authority online and are more motivated to learn from each other than from adults.
4. Most youth are not taking full advantage of the learning opportunities of the Internet.
• Youth can connect with people in different locations and of different ages who share their interests, making it possible to pursue interests that might not be popular or valued with their local peer groups."

I feel like we know this from our daily lives already. We connect to our friends and our peers. Its what has created a true global generation that is connected to each other beyond the traditional barriers that generations before us continue to suffer.

At the same time it could be one of the major reasons that we are one of the most educated generations (a finding from Generation We). Not merely because higher education has become a requirement for those who seek a leg up, but because an increase in information delivers an increase in education simply because its at our finger tips.

When you look at older young people over 18, the Chronicle piece continues, the report analysis which believes those attending college in the next few years

"will not be as devoid of social and literacy skills as one might think, given worries about how much today’s young people are fixated on their phones and screens. Those results dovetail with a September report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which said teens’ electronic gaming experiences were “rich and varied, with a significant amount of social interaction and potential for civic engagement."

Yes, this can be used as contextual validation that you need that Wii as a gift for the holidays...

The entire white paper can be found here (PDF)
The Digital Youth Report website is here

h/t from Maya at Mobilize.org.