Youth Culture Going Digital

“Mom, can I play computer?”¬† It’s a plea iterated in thousands of North American households every day.¬† How parents answer this question is as varied as the children themselves – from strict time limits to a free-for-all.¬† Yet as children morph into teenagers, parental control over the internet wanes, barriers evaporate, and the digital world becomes more streamlined into the everyday lives of young adults.¬† Like it or not, new media is as ubiquitous in today’s youth culture as rock ‚Äòn’ roll was to the Boomer’s.¬†

A recent study on youth and media by the University of Southern California and University of California, Berkeley (considered America’s most extensive study ever) advises parents to embrace, rather than resent, the increasing role that the internet plays in their children’s lives.¬†

The researchers identify two distinct ways that youths use the internet: friendship-driven and interest-driven.¬† The former is the more popular reason for going online, motivated by teens’ desire to “hang out” with their buddies.¬† Through social networks like My Space and Facebook, text messaging, playing video games with friends, and surfing online together, they do what young people have done for generations before them – talk gossip, music, movies, and anything else deemed too cool for adults.¬† In this context, adults who try to open the door and peer in can expect a “Do Not Enter” sign.¬† And, given the growing use of hand-held digital devices, a diminished influence on teenagers’ use of such technology is certain.¬†¬† ¬†¬†¬†¬†

Behaviour of young people is¬†evolving at a slower rate than technology because of resilient social and cultural structures of youth’s everyday lives.

Naturally, many parents are apprehensive about the negative effects of the internet on their children given their inability to monitor possible exposure to a digital world rife with violence and sex – not to mention, plain bad advice.¬† Add to that the concern that screen time is replacing other valuable pastimes, such as playing sports, enjoying the outdoors, and reading books.¬† These fears, however warranted, are not addressed in the study.¬† The researchers admit, however, that the behaviour of young people is not keeping pace with the rapid technological change.¬† That is, they are evolving at a much slower rate because of “resilient social and cultural structures that youth inhabit in diverse ways in their everyday lives.”

Youths are far less motivated to go online for interest-driven purposes.¬† Not surprisingly, parents are more comfortable with kids using the internet for academic or personal research than for posting videos from their latest party on YouTube.¬† Furthermore, kids tend to lift the “no adults” rule when they are online for this purpose – although they are still more motivated to learn from peers than older folks.¬† That may be because youths are more likely to seek expertise on new media technologies, such as video editing and online gaming, than more traditional subjects.¬† In other words, if young Sally wants to be a brain surgeon, she’ll be spending more time buried in books than staring at a screen.¬†

The study lauds the internet for encouraging “self-directed learning” among young people today – unlike a traditional classroom setting where goals are set by teachers.¬† As digital technology evolves, researchers suggest educators and parents can have a growing influence in how youths navigate the digital world by exploring ways to incorporate their own knowledge and expertise into this burgeoning technology.¬†

Authors of the California study warn parents that “technical barriers, or time limits on use are blunt instruments” that are perceived by youth as “raw and ill-informed exercises of power.”¬† That teenagers want more power to do as they wish is nothing new, and the researchers clearly show their lack of knowledge about raising a family within which structure and rules are paramount to ensuring children grow up healthy, safe, and well-equipped for adulthood.¬† Yet, the study makes a strong argument for parents to accept that online time provides their children with skills essential for thriving in our digital society.

As the role of technology gains importance in our lives, instilling age-old qualities, such as critical thinking, conscientiousness, and desire to learn are still as necessary as ever – if not more so.¬† And thankfully, they are taught the good old fashioned way – through human interaction.¬† Chances are, if you’re teaching these values to your kids, the computer will be an essential and useful vehicle in their life journey… but not the compass.