Why are the Kids on Facebook? And What are They Tweeting About?
May 30, 2011 | Bhowatson | Comments (0)
Wouldn't I like to know! As I creep around Facebook as "Stalking Auntie", I find out that my niece has been accepted to U of T and loves the "Crazy Nasty*** Honey Badger". My friend's daughter has just ended an important relationship and all of them are posting tons of photos of themselves so all the world can see. WTH ? (My cleaned-up version).
Questions run through my mind as I sneak around inside layers of their personal information and photos. What is drawing these kids into expressing themselves using all the new media that's available to them? As a librarian, my big question is, "What are we doing to keep up with these electronically tuned-in teens?"
At the IST Spring Lecture on June 1st, Professor Rhonda McEwen might have the answers to my questions and will provide an overview of the effects of new media on the information practices of young people. At the Faculty of Information, Professor McEwen teaches a course on, 'Special Topics in New Media and Information Practices of Children and Youth - studying the use of cellphones, blogs, Facebook, MMORPGS, (massively multiplayer online role-playing games), Wikis, podcasts, and IM (instant messaging)'
This Thursday at 2:00pm at NYCL, it will be really interesting to listen to a specialist in this fascinating field. In the meantime, I'm busy trying to create my own avatar. Professor McEwen's Avatar is really Random!