[Air-l] The Internet Is Changing The Way Canadians Socialize

[aoir.z3z at danah.org]

On Mon, 19 Jan 2004, Holly Kruse wrote:
> I wonder how much of this is generational

I heard an early report from Melora Zaner (a researcher at Microsoft)
about the NetGen and their use of technology.  She hasn't formally
published her findings yet, but i'm guessing she's one to pay attention
to.

Communication tool choice is a generational thing.  Her early findings
showed that, when possible, top channel was SMS.  Next is IM (AOL's only),
then phone.  Next is LiveJournal/Xanga/Diaryland.  Finally, email comes to
play.  Email is seen as a way of talking with "old" people.

There are a lot of good reasons for this shift, starting with the fact
that most of the NetGen went on email via Hotmail and thus was spammed out
of participation.  Furthermore, their parents had access to their email
accounts...  Even on LJ, kids put up a different set of posts for their
parents than their friends.

On Sat, 24 Jan 2004, Barry Wellman wrote:
> I think the reason that immersive virtual communities have been so
> prominent in the media and in analysts' eyes is that they are so
> imageable and so amenable to study by qualitative means.

Furthermore, i think that what made immersive worlds a good story was that
it got closer to the sci-fi phenomenon of technology creating entirely new
possibilities (such as freeing oneself from the constraints of what is
written on the body).  It was (and still is) a utopian fantasy.

Most of what i'm seeing with younger folks is a tight integration of RL
and virtual communication channels.  For youth, it's no longer like there
is the PHONE and the INTERNET; there are lots of possible ways to
communicate with people you know (and at most, their friends) via a
variety of different channels.  Rather than meeting in chatrooms, groups
of people who know Bob comment on Bob's LJ and connections form, just as
if Bob through a non-alcoholic cocktail party.

Also, methodologically, the younger folks' use of technology is seen as
peculiar, not enlightening.  When MUDs, MOOs, Usenet, etc. came out,
everyone who participated was an immigrant from the physical.  For teens,
their use of IM is just natural.  Thus, teasing out what is really going
on is much harder because there isn't this reflection about how this is
sooo much different than what we used to do...

danah


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