Life Online
The new realities created by technology
March 23, 2006
Lee Raine
Public Library Association
Boston
Pew/Internet & American Life Project http://www.pewinternet.org/
If you are not familiar with PEW, you should look at their site. They conduct research about a variety of topics including teens and technology. I have found that their research is very authoritative comparable to the OCLC report about the
Lee
PEW is an organization supported by non-profit donations
Experiences of being blogged
Writing of the Loud Librarian
Stephen Downes
Steven’s Web
Freedom to Connect
Live Instant messenger chat behind him. It would come up as he was speaking. Some would give links to the research and reports he talked about. some would comment informally (he looks younger than I imagined)
Are Kids too wired for their own Good (Time Magazine)
He focuses on internet use for everyone, but talks a lot about kids.
When living in Washington you have to attend an education camp
An education camp where you cannot leave until you can Philabuster
HE does not have a crystal ball about what patrons want or need
Eight Realities
1Millennials are a distinct age cohort, according to many measure of generational attitudes.
not generation X
Neil Howe and Strouss Millennials Rising
36% of total population, 31% minority
and they all grew up with technology and games
This is a generation of arranged play dates no child left behind and SAT
They are protected
They are confident
Team Oriented
do everything in groups
High achieving generation (best educated and best behaved adults of future)
They are pressured by overly involved parents
Conventional (innovative, love extra credit)
They are tech-embracing NOT ALL TECH SAVY. they don’t have the sense of what’s going on in devices, but have attachment towards communication power of their devices.
New and different expectations about technology
Millennial are immersed in world of media and gadgets
Age to 8 to 18 have
99 have a TV
98 have CD/tapeplayer
82 have Internet access
87 have a Video Game console
Generation M for Media
Home media ecology 1975
information conveyed in 4-5 ways
Now everything integrates back and forth
Web/Library 2.0 type (Tame the Web)
Information Needs
What is in their hands, what’s in front of them.
Their technology is mobile
Storage portable
Wireless is growing
As of December 1st 2005
61 have Walkman
55 Handheld Video game
45 Cell phone
37 MP3
Appointment media (TV, Radio) don’t have as much importance
Social Shifts
Constantly interacting
Smart Mods
Share info instantly without top down control.
People act instantly on information
Planned a trip to New York with daughter
same weekend as republican national convention
Went to Hairspray
Commented that he was only man with a coat and tie
As they look around they see Secret Service walk in for George Bush
Everyone 25 and under whipped out cellphone and started texting.
By the end of the show there were protestors, supporters, and people looking for autographs
Reindgold Smart Mod
Internet plays a large role in their lives
Pew monitors many internet uses
Slide compares how much teens are likely to do an activity.
Red = Teens more likely
Green = Equal appeal with teens and adults
Blue = Adults more likely
First gen with interactive media
they like to create and share content.
33% of online teens share their own creations online
YouTube
Google Video
32% have created webpages or blogs for others including church, school, teams,
22% report keeping own personal page
Myspace
19% have created own online journal or blog
more than a third above adults
More girls than any
19% remix online content into own artistic content
Steve Bartman’s journey
within in hour his work info was found
within two hours his home information
within four hours it had been translated into 14 languages
Overnight many people altered photos
put his picture in many different pictures (see slides)
They should be able to be in the others creative process
they should be able to critic
they should be commented on
They need acknowledged.
Form smart mods from comments
Their devotion to internet has shaped how they approach research
Online
Friends
then library
Need online on phone support
they don’t need in the face information
Don’t be through
The are multitaskers
Kiser Family Fountain
They do many things at the same time, they don’t concentrate on one media at a time
eight hours of media exposure squeezed into 6 hours
Continuous partial attention (not multi tasking)
Constantly scanning for what will be the best information.
Plans are very flexible based on imputes
Library needs to be one impute with text, chat, and email.
People are saying Teens
Libraries can strike balance between constant impute and focus.
We have reading rooms, and collections full of information
Pressure it puts on society to constantly be online, always available.
Some businesses have email free Fridays or once a month. Making employees talk to colleagues
Online reading is counted towards online time and not literacy in research currently. New Literacies for Teens and Technology explored this topic
Reality 6 their (our) technology world will change radically in the next decade
Middle of many technology J curves
Nintendo Revolution,
MMORPGS are very popular
Moore’s law Computing power doubles every 18 months
Communication power doubles every 9 months- Gilder’s law
Spectrum power is enhanced with efficiently
Move bits through pipes= Computers can move faster because the computer works at a faster rate
We can also compact things more
Storage power doubles every 12 months
Everything will get smarter
More things will be able to connect to internet
We will have smart items. RFD Devices
Computer chip in door that would recognize the you chip and let people in
recognize domino’s pizza guy
doesn’t recognize strangers, and thus will warn you
Put in soil to help farmers know when to irrigate, it will monitor soil
The importance of being in a place will be less important
Creation will explode. Movement towards citizen driven media
My media matters as much as mass media
Idea of Long Tail (Wired Magazine Editor Chris) (Tame the Librarian covers The Long Tail in Libraries)
Take on different social and cultural implications
For struggling bands writers and independent films
You can look at Webcomics to see a real illustration of this. They are able to covey an infinite canvas, and gain following, and now are transitioning into books. Before no one would publish titles such as Megatokyo, Penny Arcade, and even Red Vs Blue, but they have shaped more than the comic fields
We are tagging.
Delicious is a way to share links
Flicker shared photos
Even YALSA tags with preset groups: Professional Development, New Librarians, Lists…
The way they approach learning and research task will be shaped by their new techo-world
Learning and research will be more self-directed
Better arrayed to catch different
More reliable on feedback response
More tied to group outreach and networks
More open to cross discipline aspects
More oriented towards individualism
Target rich environment
You have the privilege reacting to and shaping these new researchers and learners
Attendee:We have to not judge the way people get information, or the way they process it
We should celebrate what teens are doing
Teens think everything they need is on the web.
