My friend posted this on Facebook this week:
Now, I’m thinking to myself, “Great! I just figured out how Facebook works, gotten up to speed and am more engaged, and it’s already passé.” According to an article by Anne Flaherty at Huffington Post, “More than three-fourths of teenagers have a cellphone and use online social networking sites such as Facebook, according to the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project. But Facebook for teens has become a bit like a school-sanctioned prom – a rite of passage with plenty of adult chaperones – while newer apps such as Snapchat and Kik Messenger are the much cooler after-party.” These apps do not require a credit card or even a cellphone; all the child needs is an internet connection and a device-no parent permission, no supervision.
Teens use social media to engage their friends and participate in the digital community. While adults worry that children are communicating with strangers online, most say that social media strengthens their relationships, and many have used social media to make connections with friends of friends. In their book Hanging Out, Messing Around and Geeking Out, Ito and company make this statement:
The fact is that teens will go where their friends are, and their parents are not. It does not matter if it is the street corner, the mall or Google+.
Read more:
The Online Generation Gap: A Study by the Family Online Safety Institute
Online Reputation Guide for College-Bound Students from SafetyWeb.com
Social Media, Social Life: How Teens View Their Digital Lives from Common Sense Media
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