> I would expect that to have grown up immersed in a technology,
> rather than constantly working to integrate it, has a great effect on
> how one then views that technology's relationship to one's daily life
> and how one compares social interaction with/through it to other forms
> of interaction.
This is clearly why there is such an immense focus on teens and
technology: to study how technologically mediated interaction is part
and parcel of their social lives. Different qualitative studies seem to
show a few of the same tendencies, as do my own study of 20 Norwegian
teenagers between 15 and 18 (all avid users of various personal media
such as IM, IRC [yes, still], blogs/LiveJournal, mobile phones): 1)
online communication is hardly seen as a substitute for face-to-face
interaction but rather as a supplement. 2) face-to-face interaction is
still valued as more authentic (my informants' choice of concept). 3)
Consequently youth do have a sense of stigma around online socializing
in cases where online communication supplants face-to-face interaction.
At least this is how I interpret my informants when they talk about all
the benefits of using personal media (e.g. easier to admit things and
be open, and the flexibility of online socializing), yet still
emphasize that face-to-face interaction is their preferred mode of
socializing. None of my informants see their own use of personal media
as embarrassing or problematic, but believe that their online and
mediated activities supplement their offline social lives (and are
furhtermore beneficial for their offline social lives).
I think it is essential to remember that the history of personal media
did not start with computer-mediated communication. Avid users of the
telephone were hardly stigmatized, were they? Women chatting on the
telephone were at least perceived as anything but anti-social (and how
interesting to compare this image of "chatty women" with the
contemplating and virtuous act of writing letters). Thankfully, online
communication is generally no longer labeled as being anti-social, and
the nuances and differences between forms of mediated interaction are
acknowledged.
Marika
