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= Narratives = Elizabeth wakes up on an ordinary Winter morning in 2007. Before she even thinks of breakfast or a shower, she punches the “on” button of her Apple laptop as she wipes the sleep out of her eyes. It boots, hitting the wireless network that invisibly blankets her house. A moment later, she’s automatically logged on to four separate instant messaging networks at once. As soon as the icons in Yahoo! Instant Messenger light up, a small blue square on the laptop starts to flash. A pop-up box with “yo yo yo” appears on the screen. Her friend Trevor is awake, too, somewhat to her surprise. He was up late at a rave the night before – Elizabeth saw he’d posted on his LiveJournal blog that he was going out. “Hey Trev,” she types back with one hand, while she reaches for her iPod with the other, “party OK?” Trevor, from some point unknown, sends back a flurry of half-sentences – it was more than OK, apparently – as Elizabeth connects her iPod to the laptop. She punches a few more buttons, convincing iTunes to download a few new songs and a podcast she likes onto the iPod for the walk to school. She opens her e-mail client as the IM window keeps flashing, Trevor punching the “enter” key with each new detail. “TMI!” Elizabeth yells back at him through YIM. He’s given her more info than she really wanted to know about the party. Ignoring Trev’s persistent messaging – the “TMI” did not sink in, apparently – Elizabeth opens her e-mail client, watching as a few dozen messages, sent her way during the wee hours, float onto her screen. After a quick graze over the message titles and news headlines that arrive in the inbox, much of it looking an awful lot like spam, she decides e-mail can wait til after breakfast. May as well login to Second Life, too, while I’m at it, she thinks, bringing to life her cute avatar, which makes her smile. Time for orange juice. Let us shift time zones. Imagine a scene in a rural Lancashire town in 1800. Jack, wakes up with a jolt. Dawn is slowly breaking. He can hear his dad making his way out of the front door. He gets out bed and puts his clothes on. He gulps down some hot gruel. "Coming dad!", he shouts. It is 5am. Outside Jack's father talks in hushed tones with other grown ups. "Alright lad", says Jack's father. The entire group of adults and 'little adults' make their way to the mills - a long day shift. Childhood is fragmented - the digital native narrative neatly amplifies some of the paradoxical images we have of childhood, how we as a society are coming to terms with the socialisation of childhood in the technological environment and the need to understand how we can better manage expectations not only of adults but also those of the digital natives. = Overview = From Erin Mishkin's paper (unpublished) on Cyber Bullying: '''Constantly Connected: A Brief Look at Youth’s Life Online''' There is no debate over the significant role digital media such as cell phones and the Internet play in most teens’ lives. A recent report of a ten-year study on the impact of online technology on the United States indicated that 98% of youth (12-18 years old) use the Internet ([http://www.digitalcenter.org/downloads/DigitalFutureReport-Year4-2004.pdf USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future, 2004]). With such a large number of teens logging on or text messaging, electronic mediums have become the primary means by which the majority of youth remain connected to their social worlds and by which they maintain and reinforce their “established, off- line peer network” (Gross, E., Juvonen, J., & Gable, S., 2002, p. 77) after walking out school doors. In fact, one study that relied on self-reported data showed that youth in their sample “spent a majority of their time online interacting with close, offline friends… the most frequently cited reasons for instant messaging were to hang out with a friend and relieve boredom, and the most common topics discussed in IMs were friends and gossip” (Gross, 2004, p. 642). A study by the [http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/36/report_display.asp Pew Internet and American Life Project] (2001) indicated that for a fifth of all youth Internet users, IMing has become the primary means of communicating with friends. In addition, 56% have more than one email address or screen name, and, of this group, 24% say that they keep at least one of those addresses or screen names secret from their friends or family. Interestingly, 24% of teens have pretended to be someone else while communicating online (Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2001). Still another study based on self-reporting found that “online pretending” was motivated by “a desire to play a joke on friends more often than to explore a desired or future identity” (Gross, 2004, p. 633). Being connected is not just limited to participating in online activities, however. As additional studies have shown, cell phone usage is especially high among teens—with phones being linked to social status and a tool for “[expressing] belonging in social groups” (Palen, Salzman & Young, 2000, p. 2). Another study conducted in the UK indicated that teens use text messages as a ritual form of gift giving because of the memories and shared meaning associated with the messages. = Problems = = Solutions = = Relevant Research and Articles = [http://europa.eu.int/information_society/activities/sip/docs/eurobarometer/eurobarometer_2005_25_ms.pdf Internet Addiction as a Problem? (2006)] [http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/essays/youthpostmodernadventure.pdf Contemporary Youth and the Postmodern Adventure] [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12502825 Most teens say they've met strangers online (2006)] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6168950.stm Online Video "eroding TV viewing" -- BBC article] [http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1204/p20s01-legn.html Look, Mom, It's Me! (Christian Science Monitor, 2006)] [http://journalism.berkeley.edu/conf/conference2003/present/brown-paper.pdf Growing Up Digital: How the Web Changes Work, Education, and the Ways People Learn (2000)] [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-entertainmentpoll-special,0,5031928.special Tracking the MySpace Generation (five part series in LA Times, 2006)] [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/77851d12-47f5-11db-a42e-0000779e2340.html They are the future – and they’re coming to a workplace near you (Financial Times, Sept. 2006)] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5358784.stm Youngsters 'reliant on mobiles' (BBC News, Dec. 2006)] [http://teentechweek.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/positive_uses.pdf Positive Uses of Social Networking Sites (pdf by Young Adult Library Services Association)] [http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_50/b3963001.htm The MySpace Generation (Business Week, 2005)] [http://web.mit.edu/sturkle/www/Always-on%20Always-on-you_The%20Tethered%20Self_ST.pdf Always-on/Always-on-you: The Tethered Self. In Handbook of Mobile Communications and Social Change, James Katz (ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, forthcoming (Turkle, S.).] [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/77851d12-47f5-11db-a42e-0000779e2340.html They are the future – and they’re coming to a workplace near you (Financial Times, 2006)] [http://www.hastac.org/node/694 We Can't Ignore the Influence of Digital Technologies (Davidson, 2007)] [http://simplespark.com simple spark (website of web 2.0 applications)] == Defining Digital Natives == [http://privateschool.about.com/b/a/188149.htm About.com's page on Digital Natives] [http://www.futurelab.org.uk/viewpoint/art26.htm Martin Owen, The Myth of the Digital Native] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_native Wikipedia entry on Digital native] [http://videos-phone.net iPhone Video Converter] [http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf Prensky: Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part I (2001)] [http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part2.pdf Prensky: Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II (2001)] [http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-The_Emerging_Online_Life_of_the_Digital_Native-03.pdf Prensky: The Emerging Online Life of the Digital Native (2004)] [http://www.pavtube.com/dvd_to_apple_tv/ Best DVD to Apple TV converter] [http://www.apple.com/au/education/digitalkids/ Digital Tools for Digital Students (from Apple site - good chart comparing DNs with digital immigrants)] [http://www.pavtube.com/hd-video-converter/ HD Video Converter] [http://www.pewinternet.org/ppt/2006%20-%2010.27.06%20Metro%20NY%20Library%20-%20final%20.ppt Pew Internet & American Life Project Presentation: Digital Natives (2006) (powerpoint)] == Digital Media Usage Reports/Studies == [http://www.netratings.com/pr/pr_050726_australia.pdf eGeneration Australia (2005)] [http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/pr/pr_050808_au.pdf Australian Kids Press Release (2005)] [http://www.netratings.com/pr/PR_060306_UK.pdf Ages of the Internet (UK) (2006)] [http://www.netratings.com/pr/pr_051219_newzealand.pdf Young New Zealanders are Avid Internet Users (NZ) (2005)] [http://www.netratings.com/pr/pr_051117_uk.pdf Britain - The Land of Online Travellers (UK, 50+ data) (2005)] [http://www.digitalcenter.org/downloads/DigitalFutureReport-Year4-2004.pdf USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future, The Digital Future Report: Surveying the Digital Future. Ten Years, Ten Trends (2004)] [http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/microsites/oxis/ Oxford Internet Survey (2007) - British Internet Users (14+)] [http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_SNS_Data_Memo_Jan_2007.pdf Pew Internet: Social Networking Websites and Teens: An Overview (2007)] [http://www.mpfs.de/fileadmin/Studien/KIM05.pdf KIM-Survey: Children & media, computer & internet. Base analysis of the media use of 6 until 13-year old children in Germany (2005)] [http://www.pavtube.com/dvd_to_gphone/ DVD to Gphone Converter] [http://www.uclan.ac.uk/host/cru/docs/emerging_trends_full_report_060204.pdf Emerging trends among primary school children's use of the internet (UK) (2004) (General Findigs, p. 11 et seq.)] [http://www.pewinternet.org/trends/usageovertime.xls Pewinternet: Survey on Internet Use (18+) (2005)] [http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/EMTEL/reports/silverstone_2003_emtel.pdf Media and Technology in the Everyday Life of European Society (2003)] [http://www.pavtube.com/blu-ray-ripper/ Blu-ray Ripper] [http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3523376 Statistics: Teen Use of Web, Online Technologies Growing (2005)] [http://www.kff.org/entmedia/7500.cfm The Media Family: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers and their Parents (2006)] [http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/cm/cm06/main.pdf OFCOM Communications Market Report 2006, p. 14-5] [http://www.digitalbeginnings.shef.ac.uk/DigitalBeginningsReport.pdf Digital Beginnings: Children's use of popular culture, new media and new technologies (UK) (2005) (age 0-6)] [http://www.pavtube.com/youtube-converter/ YouTube Video Converter] [http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Generations_Memo.pdf Pew Internet Project, Generations Memo (US) (2005)] [http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl135_en.pdf Internet and the Public at Large (2002)] [http://www.demos.co.uk/items/7341 Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new technologies (2005)] [http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/media@lse/whosWho/soniaLivingstonePublications3.htm Young People New Media report (S. Livingstone, LSE, 1999)] == Media Literacy == [http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/media_literacy/medlitpub/medlitpubrss/children/children.pdf Report on Media Literacy amongst Children (UK) (2006), p. 34 et seq.] [http://www.digitallearning.macfound.org/atf/cf/%7B7E45C7E0-A3E0-4B89-AC9C-E807E1B0AE4E%7D/JENKINS_WHITE_PAPER.PDF Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century, Henry Jenkins (2006)] [http://www.nmc.org/pdf/Global_Imperative.pdf A Global Imperative: The Report of the 21st Century Literacy Summit (2005)] [http://videos-phone.net Video to Gphone Converter] [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/business/25multi.html?ex=1332475200&en=f2956114b1265d9b&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss On Multitasking, in the New York Times, Steven Lohr (2007)] [http://www.children-go-online.net/ UK Children Go Online (2005) - survey of 1,500 kids (9-19) and their parents] [[Category:Core Articles]]

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