The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth - Alexandra Robbins [201]
in three years: See Lenhart, Amanda; Madden, Mary; Smith, Aaron; and Macgill, Alexandra. “Teens and Social Media,” Pew Internet & American Life Project, Pew Research Center, 2007.
the cyberclutches of predators: Also, many adults have raised this topic at my lectures. I do not mean to imply that cyber predators aren’t a danger; only that teens are more likely to use SNS to connect with friends than strangers.
people they already know: See, for example, Nyland; See also Lenhart, 2007: “The vast majority of teens who use social networking sites say they use the sites to maintain their current friendships.” (emphasis theirs)
more than 90 percent: See Lenhart.
After World War II: See Boyd, Danah. “Why Youth Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life.” Youth, Identity and Digital Media, Buckingham, David, ed. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning, Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008.
“By allowing youth”: Ibid. See also Nyland, Rob; Marvez, Raquel; and Beck, Jason. “Myspace: Social Networking or Social Isolation.” Paper presented at the AEJMC Midwinter Conference, Reno, Nevada. Feb 23–24, 2007. Note that “This does not mean that face-to-face communication is being displaced,” British psychologist Sonia Livingstone said. “The simple distinction between offline and online no longer captures the complex practices associated with online technologies as they become thoroughly embedded in the routines of everyday life.” See Livingstone, Sonia. “Taking risky opportunities in youthful content creation: teenagers’ use of social networking sites for intimacy, privacy, and self-expression,” New Media & Society, Vol. 10, 2008.
“far less time”: See Nielsen Report. “How Teens Use Media,” June 2009.
time with SNS friends in person: Ibid. See also Subrahmanyama, Kaveri; Reich, Stephanie M.; Waechter, Natalia; and Espinoza, Guadalupe. “Online and offline social networks: Use of social networking sites by emerging adults,” Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Vol. 29, 2008. The Nielsen report announced, “To teens, social networks are a key source of information and advice in a critical developmental period.” See Nielsen Report, June 2009.
“whether offline social capital”: See Ellison, N. B.; Steinfield, C.; and Lampe, C. “The benefits of Facebook ‘friends’: Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites,” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 12, no. 4, 2007.
“allows me to learn new facts”: Interview.
“friend eaters”: Interviews.
average of 455 Facebook friends: See Sheldon, P. “I’ll poke you. You’ll poke me! Self-disclosure, social attraction, predictability and trust as important predictors of Facebook relationships,” Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, Vol. 3, no. 2, 2009.
“In choosing [Top Friends]”: see Boyd, Danah.
“Pictures on Facebook”: Interview.
falking, or Facebook stalking: Interviews.
“It’s like you never really get away”: Interview.
“Although I love Facebook”: Interview.
“It’s practically minute-to-minute”: Interview.
“You’ll hear a conversation”: Interview.
devoted to insulting a classmate: Interviews.
a fake Facebook profile: Interview.
quizzes that publicly ask: Interviews.
“Facebook can totally ruin”: Interview.
frequency with which teenagers: See, for example, Valkenburg, P. M.; Peter, J.; and Schouten, A. “Friend networking sites and their relationship to adolescents’ well-being and social self-esteem,” CyberPsychology and Behavior, Vol. 9.
“tend to overestimate”: Ibid.
Rachel’s Challenge: See rachelschallenge.org.
Annmarie: Interview. Note: By the time I contacted Annmarie, she was happy and comfortable in a crowd of gamers.
student gunmen killed twelve students: See, for example, Pevere, Geoff. “Mass murder as performance,” The Toronto Star, April