Hannah Emmanuele
Parents today are constantly running to catch up when it comes to understanding the digital spaces our children use. Naturally, facebook went out of style as soon as parents started friending their kids. The latest craze is Snapchat and Ask.fm. I’m not a fan of online anonymity and therefore strongly discourage use of Ask.fm, however Snapchat is a phenomena that cannot be stopped. Another phenom, Danah Boyd has this to say about managing parental fear in the digital age:
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.
