I asked my friend Courtney Macivinta, the author of Respect: A Girl's Guide to Getting Respect & Dealing When Your Line Is Crossed, and an ambassador for the amazing non-profit Girls for a Change, to take some notes while speaking at Next Generation Tech: Teens Plugged In!. While Silicon Valley teens probably don't represent the average American teen when it comes to technology use, it's still fun to hear what they're saying about the internet, cell phones and cheating with iPods! And, I hate to say it, but I have no clue what a "compiler" is.

From Courtney:

Throughout the day, high school and college students -- many of whom are entrepreneurs in their own right -- spoke to a room full of companies, press, VCs and some youth marketers about the gadgets they're using, the web sites they use, the games they play, and the media or online companies they've started recently. Some, like 19-year-old morning keynote Ben Casnocha, who just wrote a new book, "My Start-Up Life," talked about their business and leadership philosophies and how to fund your ideas.

The high school panel included 9 girls and guys and focused mostly on how technology is integrated into their daily lives. Many in the audience seemed to really want to know: What do teens want? Here's some of the insights the panelists offered:

* They have a bit of blog fatigue and the majority no longer maintained their personal blogs. (This goes to show that being a publisher in any form always presents the same quandary: You have to feed the beast).

* They all Google themselves and find random things like past cross-country running scores to awards they won in 6th grade, or a person with their same name who owns a refrigerator store on the east coast.

* They think the "danger of social networking sites" story is way overblown (as do I). One girl said: "They are enough MySpace articles to sink a thousand ships. We know, we get it!" They also pointed to a trend I've seen over and over: More teens are making their profiles private and really use sites like MySpace to keep in touch with current friends not to meet new ones. To switch to a new social network site seemed like a pain to most. One said, "It would have to be really special and I'd have to know people there." Most of the panelists nodded their head in agreement.

* These panelists, for one, didn't shop online much. They were sticklers about things like shipping costs and most used the Web to research offline purchases.

* Yes, they all have mobile phones (some said they couldn't live without theirs) but some are also on a budget and try to stick it when it comes to text-messaging costs.

* One guy admitted to cheating via his iPod or texting, which elicited gasps from the crowd (and a sarcastic comment from his dad who was THERE: "Then why don't you get better grades?") Once he fessed up there was a bit of a confession domino effect and a young woman admitted she'd cheated along the same lines before too.

The college panel shared these additional observations:

* They think the iPhone sounds cool; some had a smart phone; they had arguments for and against the value of browsing the web via their phone (some said sites don't look great, others do nothing but surf the web with their phone.) None had a landline phone. One panelist said he didn't want a smart phone because if he lost it "it would be like losing a girlfriend."

* All used Facebook but mentioned that they already, or would soon, use LinkedIn for more professional contacts.

* They found themselves doing more email than IM these days to keep in touch with contacts (probably that growing list of business contacts).

On both panels, MySpace universally was out of favor (even if the panelists still had a profile up) because it was too "gawdy" or "cluttered."

One thing I really enjoyed was hearing about the companies these young adults had started like:

* Elementeo.com (the 13-year-old founder launched interactive trading card came to teach kids about chemistry)
* Comcate Inc. (This is Ben's company--an e-gov start-up he founded at age 14)
* Composite Labs (they make and sell robot kits)
* CollegeWikis.com (name speaks for itself, but I liked that they allow users to capture email list discussions in their shared Wiki so they can save and search the discussions)
* GumballCapital.org (micro-loans funded by college students)
* Millennial Productions (creating low-cost short videos for clients)
* Palo Alto High School Robotics Team (the team created, among other things, a laser triggering device that enables quadriplegics the ability to push buttons, for example)
* Votsu.com (a Latin American social networking site)

As an ambassador for Girls For A Change, I did an afternoon keynote, "Is It Becoming a Woman's Web?" (My answer: Yes!) I shared how I see women and girls shaping the entire experience, usability and utility of the Web -- even those of us who don't hold Computer Science degrees or work in IT. I also recommended that companies take care to invite girls to the table as leaders, advisors, mentees, product reviewers, and give them the space to explore their visions (it's always a win-win).

My favorite quote of the day from a teen girl for Palo Alto High School: "I couldn't live without my compiler -- I love my compiler!"

Posted by anastasia at 12:15 AM | Permalink

The other night I was watching "Sixteen Candles" yet again (I can't help myself) on HBO. I was stunned to hear the word "faggot" spoken by characters at least once if not twice. Juxtaposed against the recent uproar conservative provacateur Ann Coulter caused recently by calling John Edwards the same word, you can see how far we've come in terms of our sensitivity to the reality that words can hurt. We've also come amazingly far when it comes to the visibility of gay and lesbian teens. Gay/straight alliances have proliferated in high schools across the country and popular teen dramas like "The O.C." and "South of Nowhere" (and others) have had gay or lesbian storylines. But as visibility has increased so has harrassment and bullying of gay, lesbian, bi and transgender youth at school.

At a recent bookstore event in Austin, two staff from Out Youth attended -- and I was so glad they did. In chapter two of Totally Wired, I talk about the risks involved in coming out online. The internet has provided a lifeline to gay/lesbian/bi/transgender/questioning teens whose parents may not be understanding. Many of these teens are depressed and can suffer in silence, especially if they live outside of large cities. Being able to connect with other youth going through a similar experience online can often be the only thing that keeps them going. At the same time, the anonymity and distance the internet can offer can create a false sense of security when teens decide to open up about their sexuality on a blog or MySpace. Even if they do it under an assumed name, they can still be discovered and "outed" in very cruel ways by their peers.

What I advised the Out Youth staffers and anyone working with young people who may be struggling with these issues is to warn teens of the dangers of revealing this type of information online before they have come out or discussed these issues with parents and friends. If they are not ready to come out to the offline world, they probably shouldn't come out online on a blog or profile that can be traced back to them. There are many organizations like Out Youth and Lyric where young people can reach out confidentially for support as well as places online where young people could chat anonymously -- this is different from speaking openly about these issues on a blog or profile.

P.S. Get Totally Wired! I just launched a new page on this site where you can download the discussion guide for Totally Wired as well as visit the Blogsafety Forum over at Net Family News to talk to other parents about these issues. Check it out and help spread the word.

Posted by anastasia at 7:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For many of us, keeping a diary as a teen meant opening up a journal or notebook and writing or drawing. It was a way to have an inner dialogue with yourself about your day, what you did and how you felt. Sometimes it was just a listing of what you did that day or creating a To Do list for tomorrow. Sometimes it was pages of angst about being rejected by the boy you liked, a fight with a friend, or anger at your parents over being grounded. Today's teens are still keeping diaries -- and some of them are still keeping written diaries, but most are blogging because it's just easier.

In chapter two of Totally Wired, Sylvia, a teen from San Francisco, explains why she keeps a LiveJournal vs. a written journal:

I think the reason why I could never keep a written journal is because I sort of am doing my homework. I'm doing this whole flow of things and then to have to sit down and take time out of that to write stuff down whereas with LiveJournal.com, I'll come home, turn on my computer, put on my music, go check my email, and do research and stuff. I've set up LiveJournal as my opening page actually so in a sense it's closer at hand.

Blogging has also made journaling more public. The dialogue we had with ourselves is now the dialogue teens are having with their friends (mostly the same friends they see at school), and for those teens that keep their journals public, with the world.

In the past year, many teens have experienced the realization (often painfully) that their public blogs can be read by anyone -- including parents, teachers and the authorities. When I first started researching Totally Wired, I think there was a bigger lack of awareness about what it means to be public. Even so, realizing your blog can be read by anyone is only the first step for teens in thinking about what they are actually posting.

Here are my suggestions for topics to talk to teens about when it comes to keeping an online journal:

1) Personal information: Are you using your real name (first and last)? If so, how about just using your first or coming up with a fun moniker. Obviously teens shouldn't post their home address. Posting their high school is questionable, but definitely not advised if they are posting their real first name with a photo. As a parent, you have to decide what combination of identifying information you're comfortable with. If they choose not to make their journal private for only their friends, the safest public journal is obviously a moniker with no photos. Next would be a first name with no photos, etc.

2) Writing about feelings and emotions: If teens are keeping a personal diary online, are they ok with the world knowing about their deepest feelings and emotions? Have your teen do the exercise of thinking about reading their journal entry in front of a room full of strangers. If it feels ok, then it probably is. What about when they involve other people? Are they writing about another person in a way that makes it easy for reader who knows them to identity that person? If that person found out, how would they feel?

3) Venting: Whether a teen is venting about a friend, a parent, a teacher or even the President of the United States, they have to realize that someone reading could take whatever he or she is writing seriously. Teens have been expelled, investigated by the Secret Service and have had friendships ruined over writing something on a blog they didn't really mean. When talking about venting with teens, I would tell them it's probably best to reserve these posts for an old fashioned paper notebook kept somewhere private.

Some related links/food for thought:

On the Web, 'Dear Diary' becomes 'Dear World' (originally published in the Washington Post)

And...what about when troubled teens actually use blogs to unconsciously cry out for help. In these cases, having a digital trail that leads back to that teen somehow can actually save a teen's life. It also makes me think of the Shawn Hornbeck kidnapping case, which is unfolding right now. Boing Boing has been tracking Hornbeck's digital trail -- it seems his photos were online while he was abducted.

P.S. See my list of sites under Where Teens Blog on the right hand side of this blog.

Posted by anastasia at 6:34 PM | Permalink

I'm just going to reprint this press release straight up. It's a must-attend press conference in Second Life (which means most of us will probably wait and watch the Webcast....)

MacArthur Foundation Press Conference and Panel Discussion on Digital Media and Learning

Thursday, October 19, 2006
10:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. ET
Second Life Venue: NMC Campus Amphitheater (113/97/26)
(NOTE: Please join "NMC Guests" group for access to Amphitheater)

Webcast Link: http://www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=35992 (beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET)

Topic: Are kids different today because of their exposure to technology? What role do video games, cell phones and social networking websites play in the development of today's children?

On Thursday, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation will make a major announcement that will generate a greater understanding of the impact technology and digital media has on today's youth.

You are invited to join the press briefing LIVE via Second Life or via a special Webcast. You can participate in this panel discussion with some of the greatest minds and most influential voices in the fields of technology, digital media, education and learning.

Panelists and influential audience members will include:

* Dr. Mizuko Ito, Research Scientist, Annenberg Center for Communication, University of Southern California , studying new media

* Henry Jenkins, Director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program and author of Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide and Fans, Bloggers and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture.

* Howard Gardner, the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

* Dr. Nichole Pinkard, Director of Technology and Research Associate, Center for School Improvement, University of Chicago, working to expand after-school media literacy programs

* Eric Zimmerman, CEO and founder, gameLab, working to develop new games to support media literacy and design skills in young people

Posted by anastasia at 8:25 PM | Permalink