The Christian Science Monitor Internet bullying

"The actions themselves - rumors, threats, gossip, humiliation - are nothing new. But among today's adolescents - a generation of instant messengers, always connected, always wired - bullies are starting to move beyond slam books and whisper campaigns to e-mail, websites, chat rooms, and text messaging."

"The pressure for kids to be always online means bullies can extend their harassment into their victims' homes."

redux [05.19.03]
The Mercury News Growing up wired

"In the coming weeks, the first wave in a generation of teens unlike any other will graduate from Silicon Valley high schools: The vast majority of them will remember an adolescence lived to an astonishing degree on the Internet.

These teens, some of whom have been online nearly a decade, are among the Internet's first natives, at home in the wired world to a degree their parents may never wholly understand."

redux [12.12.02]
The Christian Science Monitor 'r u online?': the evolving lexicon of wired teens

""Instant messaging has just replaced the phone ... for their generation," says Mary Anne Thomas, a Houston mother on the other side of town, with two teen boys addicted to IM.

She has noticed that her oldest son, who's normally quite shy around girls, feels more comfortable talking to them online - a positive, she thinks."

"Some parents worry that teens could get into trouble by talking to so many different - and sometimes unknown - buddies. Certainly, that's happened. But Dr. Randall says he found in his study that teens are quite aware of that issue and know how to protect themselves."

redux [09.04.02]
Wired News When Text Messaging Turns Ugly

""Text messaging is extremely powerful," Herbert said. "It is devastating for the children it affects. You don't know who did it, but you know it's someone you know. Someone who has your number and knows personal stuff about you. You start wondering if it was your best friend that did it. You can't get away from it, and two of our children got rid of their phones because of this very problem."

"SMS bullying is like stalking," said ChildLine's Turner. "It is far more insidious than other forms of bullying.""

redux [01.23.02]
The Christian Science Monitor The new 'Inteenet': Adolescents surf - and shape - the Web

"It's like a seminar - of millions. With teens spending more time online than ever, a new study finds them turning to the Web as a cultural forum, shaping their own "electronic commons.""

"The report finds 3 in 4 12-to-17-year-olds using the Web, often as an arena of unfiltered teen discussion - analysis of everything from high-school trends to the ramifications of Sept. 11."

Center for Media Education A Field Guide to the New Digital Landscape

"In many ways, teens are the defining users of this digital media culture. They are the first generation to grow up surrounded by and immersed in digital technologies. With nearly three-quarters of twelve-to-seventeen-year-olds online, teens surpass adults in their use of chat, instant messaging, and other forms of Internet communications."

"Teens are more than just consumers of media content; they are also active participants and creators of this new media culture, developing content themselves, designing personal Web sites, and launching their own online enterprises. As one trade publication observed, young people have not simply adopted digital media, they have internalized it."

redux [06.21.01]
Pew Internet and American Life Project Teenage Life Online: The rise of the instant-message generation and the Internet's impact on friendships and family relationships

"The Internet is the telephone, television, game console, and radio wrapped up in one for most teenagers and that means it has become a major "player" in many American families. Teens go online to chat with their friends, kill boredom, see the wider world, and follow the latest trends. Many enjoy doing all those things at the same time during their online sessions. Multitasking is their way of life. And the emotional hallmark of that life is the enthusiasm for the new ways the Internet lets them connect with friends, expand their social networks, explore their identities, and learn new things."

redux [05.09.01]
Peer-to-Peer: Harnessing the Power of Disruptive Technologies Conversational Technologies

"Conversations are an important part of our daily lives. For most people, in fact, they are the most important way to acquire and spread knowledge during a normal working day."

"Conversations provide a comfortable medium in which knowledge flows in both directions, and where contributors share an inherent context through their subjects and relationships. In addition to old forms of conversations--direct interaction and communication over the phone and in person--conversations are becoming an increasingly important part of the networked world. Witness the popularity of email, chat, and instant messaging, which enable users to increase the range and scope of their conversations to reach those that they may not have before."

"Still, little attention has been paid in recent years to the popular Internet channels that most naturally support conversations."

redux [02.18.01]
First Monday Content is Not King

"The Internet is widely regarded as primarily a content delivery system. Yet historically, connectivity has mattered much more than content. Even on the Internet, content is not as important as is often claimed, since it is e-mail that is still the true "killer app."

The primacy of connectivity over content explains phenomena that have baffled wireless industry observers, such as the enthusiastic embrace of SMS (Short Message System) and the tepid reception of WAP (Wireless Application Protocol). Combined with statistics showing low cell phone usage, this also suggests that the 3G systems that are about to be introduced will serve primarily to stimulate more voice usage, not to provide Internet access.

For the wired Internet, the secondary role of content will likely mean that the dangers of balkanization are smaller than is often feared. Further, symmetrical links to the house are likely to be in greater demand than is usually realized. The huge sums being invested by carriers in content are misdirected."

redux [02.04.00]
The Guardian Online Why content isn't king

"Imagine the discussions that must have gone on around the invention of the telephone: a new medium for delivering content directly to households. Indeed, that was exactly how some people did use it. In Budapest you could pick up the telephone and listen to music and news until the first world war... It didn't turn out that way because people preferred listening to each other: they preferred "self-generated" content."

"Companies with a strategy that facilitates communication between people, a strategy that facilitates self-generated content, will prosper as the world becomes more interactive and broadcast becomes just one sector of a much richer media world."