Two tidbits for your Monday morning, courtesy my colleagues at CCF:
“Study Suggests ‘Hanging Out’ on Facebook, MySpace Isn’t a Waste for Teens,” Joe Crawford, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A study by the MacArthur Foundation concludes that interaction with new media such as Facebook is increasingly becoming an essential part of becoming a competent citizen in the digital age. And further, all that Web surfing isn’t necessarily eroding the intelligence or initiative of the young generation. “It may look like kids are wasting a lot of time online, but they’re actually learning a lot of social, technical and also media literacy skills,” said Mizuko Ito, a researcher at the University of California, Irvine who lead the study.
Teen Birth Rate Falls to 28-Year Low, John Fauber, Milwaukee, Journal-Sentinel
Contraception, abstinence, media campaigns all helping to influence city’s youth, experts say.
Comments
Virginia Rutter — November 24, 2008
The facebook/myspace research is great to read about. I'm tired of the negativity about online activities. I recognize how skillful my students with the internet and because of the internet--they make connections, use different metaphors, and explore ideas. A big challenge is how to reduce some of the downside of multitasking associated with being wired...being wired begs us all to do many different things at the same time. My students can be very good and switching tasks--and I know that is different from multitasking--but multitasking can make life less pleasant, since it makes us all less present.