The Case for Technology & Teens

CLA YA Section Annual Meeting

November 10, 2010Geri Diorio

Ridgefield Library

Teens•Impulsive•Plugged In•Need involvement•Like Technology• What Else???

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What the Research Says About Teens Online

Teens and the Internet

• 93% of teens ages 12-17 use the internet• 87% of online teens use email• 97% of teens play video or computer games• 73% of online teens use social network sites

– (PEW, 2010)

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• 75% of online teen view videos on video-sharing sites

• 68% of teens use instant messaging• 14 % of online teens blog• 55% of teens use Wikipedia

– (PEW, 2010)

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What the Research Says About Teens Online

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• 8% of teens use Twitter

• 8 % of teens use virtual worlds

• Facebook is the SNS of choice – (PEW, 2010)

What the Research Says About Teens Online

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• 75% of teens have a cell phone• Teens without computers use their phones to

go online• 111 texts per day (6 per hour)• After texting, taking and sharing photos is the

next most popular cell phone use – (PEW, Nielsen,

2010)

What the Research Says About Teens and Cell Phones

Who are teens?

•A Vision of Students Today

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Marketing Strategies• Deliver service to teens• Create customer satisfaction• Use available channels (on ground and online)• Stay within budget • Appeal to local audience/preferences• Measure outcomes/outputs

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Which Tech Tools?

• Use what fits in daily practice– for you/for your teens

• Use what you have – the tools at hand• What works?• Make strategic decisions about advertising

and promotion based on your marketing strategy.

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Skype Videos

Facebook Surveys

Texting Twitter

Downloadable Audio

Online SRP Free Software

• How do you know what fits? • How to understand/use/be

effective with new tools? • Who has the time?

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Why does techfit teens??

• Existing channel• That’s where the teens are• Budget friendly• Easily tailored to local needs• Potential for engagement• Meets teen needs (40 assets)

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Concerns with Technology

• Personal implications

• Digital equity

• Legal implications

• Is it really so different? 13

Evaluating Outcomes

• Outputs vs. outcomes

• Are you meeting goals?

• Core Values/Developmental Assets

• Measurable evidence14

40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents

• Provided by the Search Institute

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Image from Microsoft clip art

Core Competencies in Social Networking for YA Librarians•Uses Web tools and social networking communities to engage with and provide services to young adults•Understands and articulates the particular importance of engaging with young adults in nontraditional ways that extend beyond the physical library•Involves young adults in the investigation and evaluation of tools to identify those most applicable to the library’s young adult services•Explores the potential of social networking to connect and interact with young adults and meet their information needs

Technology competencies related to social networking

•Understands and uses common social networking and online collaboration tools•Locates and reads blogs and listens to podcasts; demonstrates familiarity with micro-blogging (Twitter)•Demonstrates familiarity with instant messaging tools (Meebo, Skype), social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning) and social bookmarking (Delicious, Diigo)•Demonstrates familiarity with photo-sharing (Flickr, ShutterFly), music-sharing (Last.fm, Pandora, iTunes) and video-sharing (YouTube)•Locates and follows information sources to stay informed of new technologies and social tools

Webjunction

More support• ALA Resources for Librarians About Online

Social NetworkingIncluding Toolkits and Advocacy Guides

• Supporting Information Literacy and 21st Century LearnersAASL Standards for the 21st Century LearnerNational Educational Technology Standards

• Copyright in the Digital Age Center for Social Media

• Online Safety Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use

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Suggested Reading• danah boyd – smart, articulate researcher

who is teen-centric & teen friendly

• Tame The Web – especially this post about using social media to connect with teens

• Kevin Kelly on techno-literacy

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Learn More

Connect, Create, Collaborate: Supporting Teen Needs With Technology

Conclusions“The single most important thing (you) can do in

today’s digital world is to stay grounded in the rapidly changing digital landscape, stay abreast of the research and best practices, read the blogs, join the electronic discussion lists, attend the conferences, and engage others in the profession in conversations about where they are doing in their libraries to meet teens where they are: online and out in the virtual world.” (Suellentropp and Gorman, 2009)

References• Rainie, Lee. 2009. “Teens and the Internet.”

PowerPoint Presentation. January 9, 2009. Pew Internet & American Life project.

• Lenhart, Purcell, Smith, Zickuhr. 2010. “Social Media and Young Adults.” Report. February 3, 2010. Pew Internet & American Life project.

• Wesch, Michael. “A Vision of Students Today.” Video. Spring 2007 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

• Hoenke, Justin. “Using Social Media to Connect With Teens.” Blog article. Tame the Web. March 17, 2010.

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