Type of Proposal
Oral Presentation
Faculty
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Proposal
Few scholars have gone to the lengths of Turkle and boyd to examine the current digital moment under the lens of socialization. Even more crucial is their consideration of youth within the technological context. While adults are more readily adaptive and have autonomy over their media use as they are able to select technological use and frequency, the same cannot be said of younger generations. When considering youth who are primarily between the ages of 9 and 18, it is evident that they have grown alongside digital developments which defines their childhood by its forceful presence through the adults around them. As they grow, youth come to understand the world from different perspectives based by their participation in society, and seek communities similar to their interests. The way that adolescents define community in culture has a radically different face from what previous social media-less generations, but what is at the core of socialization? Is youth’s understanding and ability to create a community overtly changed through digitalization, or is it simply altered? This paper examines how young people grow to respond to technology through a comparative analysis of the works of Sherry Turkle and danah boyd who contrast in analytical perspectives but maintain the same argument that technology is impacting our lives, especially when considering those who are growing up alongside it. Under these circumstances, it is pivotal to recognize the importance of research to understand exactly how such groups are altered through technological dependence in development. The scope will examine how technology is presented to children, how they proceed to utilize it within their youth, and considering the perspective that thinkers such as Turkle and boyd would take in regards to the topic.
Location
University of Windsor, Main Campus
Grand Challenges
Viable, Healthy and Safe Communities
For Better or Worse: Theorizing Adolescent Media Consumption
University of Windsor, Main Campus
Few scholars have gone to the lengths of Turkle and boyd to examine the current digital moment under the lens of socialization. Even more crucial is their consideration of youth within the technological context. While adults are more readily adaptive and have autonomy over their media use as they are able to select technological use and frequency, the same cannot be said of younger generations. When considering youth who are primarily between the ages of 9 and 18, it is evident that they have grown alongside digital developments which defines their childhood by its forceful presence through the adults around them. As they grow, youth come to understand the world from different perspectives based by their participation in society, and seek communities similar to their interests. The way that adolescents define community in culture has a radically different face from what previous social media-less generations, but what is at the core of socialization? Is youth’s understanding and ability to create a community overtly changed through digitalization, or is it simply altered? This paper examines how young people grow to respond to technology through a comparative analysis of the works of Sherry Turkle and danah boyd who contrast in analytical perspectives but maintain the same argument that technology is impacting our lives, especially when considering those who are growing up alongside it. Under these circumstances, it is pivotal to recognize the importance of research to understand exactly how such groups are altered through technological dependence in development. The scope will examine how technology is presented to children, how they proceed to utilize it within their youth, and considering the perspective that thinkers such as Turkle and boyd would take in regards to the topic.