“What is new about how teenagers communicate through services such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? Do social media affect the quality of teens' lives? In this book, the author uncovers some of the major myths regarding teens' use of social media. It explores tropes about identity, privacy, safety, danger and bullying.”
For the choice book assignment, I chose to read Danah Boyd’s, “It’s Complicated”. I chose this book mostly because of its description, which can be found above. I was initially drawn to it, as I often have a negative outlook on, what seems to me, the heavy use of technology by young teens. I myself am a “millennial” that grew up with large changes in technology, but I have found myself often defending and boasting that I was born “just in time”. I still spent my childhood playing outside, talked to my then-boyfriend, now-husband on the house landline through most of high school, and as I often preach to my younger siblings, I didn’t get a cell phone until I was a junior. I also often find myself worrying about the future filled with grown-up versions of my younger sister. However, I wanted to be persuaded. I wanted someone to tell me that it would all be okay, and that the lives of these Snapchat addicted teens were not being wasted. Boyd’s book seemed to be a good place to start.
Boyd begins the book by eloquently discussing and explaining these new “networked publics” that are created by social media. Prior to the internet, these publics were places like the mall, or wherever it was “cool” to hang out. Boyd argues that with the development of technology and the emergence of social media platforms, these are now the “cool” places. Even though these platforms have, and will continue, to change, the foundation and reasoning behind the allure for teens will remain the same. Because of this, it is easy for Boyd to illustrate and expand on her challenge to “...the anxieties that many American adults have about teen’s engagement with social media” (5). Through the remainder of the book, Boyd addresses some of the biggest issues within the use of technology of teens, including: identity, privacy, addiction, danger, bullying, inequality, and literacy.
As someone who started off very skeptical, I am immensely bought in to Boyd’s argument and look forward to exploring in depth the analysis of the issues biggest subjects in the chapters that follow.
Boyd begins the book by eloquently discussing and explaining these new “networked publics” that are created by social media. Prior to the internet, these publics were places like the mall, or wherever it was “cool” to hang out. Boyd argues that with the development of technology and the emergence of social media platforms, these are now the “cool” places. Even though these platforms have, and will continue, to change, the foundation and reasoning behind the allure for teens will remain the same. Because of this, it is easy for Boyd to illustrate and expand on her challenge to “...the anxieties that many American adults have about teen’s engagement with social media” (5). Through the remainder of the book, Boyd addresses some of the biggest issues within the use of technology of teens, including: identity, privacy, addiction, danger, bullying, inequality, and literacy.
As someone who started off very skeptical, I am immensely bought in to Boyd’s argument and look forward to exploring in depth the analysis of the issues biggest subjects in the chapters that follow.