Stats are nice, but what really grabbed my attention was the emphasis of feedback. According to the report teenagers love receiving feedback, and social media like YouTube, myspace, or facebook in particular, provide them with the ideal feedback-producing system. Teens post videos on youtube or their myspace and facebook profile pages and they can almost count on feedback. Pew reports that 89% of teens who post photos online say that people comment at least "sometimes" and 72% of teen video posters receive comments "sometimes."
Teenage years have often been typified by a longing to be heard. Social media, like facebook, not only gives teenagers an opportunity to express, but , just as importantly, it lends them responses and instant feedback.
When I stop I think about it, I come to the pathetic realization that I use Facebook primarily for feedback. I almost never send anyone else anything or write on someone else wall, or request a friend, but in the moments of extreme boredom when I log in I definitely check my notifications and my inbox. I want to know what comments or messages people have left me, I guess because, like these little Internet-obsessed teenagers, I have a juvenile craving for feedback too.
The article states that teenagers have always had a desire to be social and share and get feedback. Now teens are open to exploring new tools, such as online social networks like Facebook, to "feel connected, maintain ties, and receive feedback."
Source Citation:Jones, Ashley. "Let's give them something to talk about.(content news)." EContent 31.2 (March 2008): 10(2). General OneFile. Gale. Beaman Library - Lipscomb University. 3 Mar. 2009
Gale Document Number:A176868394
The desire to be affirmed and responded to is very real and very evident in our culture. The fact of the matter though is that this desire is universal. Each and every one of us desires affirmation from our peers in some form or another. Therefore, what is interesting here is the new ways in which affirmation is being transferred.
ReplyDeleteAlong with new mediums for communication comes a new way to reach community with other people. In the documentary we watched early in the semester we saw that with several different teens who sought out community and affirmation through social networking sites. Is this always negative? I don't think so. It can definitely take that form, but there is a responsible use of social networking that allows for positive communication between peers.
Young people love attention. I will go ahead and say I'm a prime example of that. I think a good factor that falls into this "attention getting" teens are looking for through social networking is the amount of attention they get at home.
ReplyDeleteI will agree with Jesse in a sense that it is so interesting the new mediums for communication that are arising over the internet. Of course they are geared to teens and young people, because they are the next generation!
Yes, the teenage years are about "expressing yourself" and "finding yourself" and the internet, particularly social networking sites, provide a perfect avenue in which to do that.
ReplyDeleteI had never thought about the need for feedback, but when I examine myself, I think that is the primary reason for my being a apart of social networking sites. I enjoy logging into facebook and checking my inbox, my wall, and my photo or note comments. I want to know that other people have read what I've posted, seen my pictures, or have just dropped me a line. Because I am also on facebook to keep in touch with my friends, I will look at my friends' profiles and write on their walls and check their statuses. This is why social networking sites are so popular among teens because they get a profile that they can personalize and express themselves and they can post things they find of interest to them and get feedback from their peers.
I think that it is not only the need for feedback, but the need for attention. Most teenagers, even adults, only do things if it will be noticed by other people. Not that it is the same concept, but I kind of compare it to volunteering. A lot of people will only volunteer/ help others when it will help them. If they are not able to tell people what they did for someone else, or if it will go unnoticed, then they usually will not do it. To me it is the same thing with facebook. In my opinion Teens have a need to be noticed and facebook is a very public way for then to be noticed by many people. I am not saying that this is a bad thing, it is a good way for people to stay in touch and share images, I am just saying that it is a good way for them to get a lot of attention from a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we all desire attention--attention satisfies a part of self-identity that we need.
ReplyDeleteAnd I also agree, there is this thrill when you jump on the Internet and you have a new notification of some sort. But I wonder if this gratification actually does satisfy our attention needs? Or if it transforming us into beings that desire more attention than actually needed due to these outlets.
YES EMILY I AGREE! All this talk about teenagers and their desire for feedback fueling their Internet, specifically social-networks, use is precisely a need for attention.
ReplyDeleteReading through all of these articles with their statistics and emphasis on need for feedback, the only thing that comes to my mind is "give me attention, give me attention."
The internet is an unlimitied source of attention!! No wonder we are all so obsessed with the random networks, blogs, games, they provide personally tailored attention for anyone. Following the stage in our lives that we all desire any kind of attention above all would be adolescence.
I think it would also be helpful to know more about how teenagers went about declaring social stature or 'getting attention' before social networking came around.
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely something to be said for the timelessness of that attitude towards getting feedback from peers, and it seems like social networking has just put a magnifying glass on it.