Full Circle Associates

danah boyd gave a talk recently on Myspace and has shared her presentation notes online, Identity Production in a Networked Culture: Why Youth Heart MySpace. (And my I just say, I LOVE how people are sharing F2F notes online. Thanks!)

These note are important to me for two reasons.

First, as a parent of teens who use MySpace danah gives a calm response to why such spaces and activities are important. I don't share my family details in the blog, but I will say my experience resonates with danah's observations -- and some of those experiences are painful, but useful as a real life experience.

Second, as a student of online life, danah pegs three things: the importance of identity, the act of "hanging out" as an important social activity (offline and online - anyway you can get it!), and finally, the necessary experience of being part of a digital public. This is, like it or not, a necessary life skill for many of us today. Learn it well, learn it young enough.

"Youth are not creating digital publics to scare parents - they are doing so because they need youth space, a place to gather and see and be seen by peers. Publics are critical to the coming-of-age narrative because they provide the framework for building cultural knowledge. Restricting youth to controlled spaces typically results in rebellion and the destruction of trust. Of course, for a parent, letting go and allowing youth to navigate risks is terrifying. Unfortunately, it's necessary for youth to mature.

What we're seeing right now is a cultural shift due to the introduction of a new medium and the emergence of greater restrictions on youth mobility and access. The long-term implications of this are unclear. Regardless of what will come, youth are doing what they've always done - repurposing new mediums in order to learn about social culture.

Technology will have an effect because the underlying architecture and the opportunities afforded are fundamentally different. But youth will continue to work out identity issues, hang out and create spaces that are their own, regardless of what technologies are available."

Tags: myspace, danahboyd, identity, community_indicators