I realized after my YouTube rant, that I had connected the YouTube readings to past texts, but not to the current readings. Let me discuss what I thought I thought of them:
Power's article about the YouTube course was really interesting! The fact that there is a college course specifically about YouTube and its role in our culture nowadays is really fascinating - and gutsy! A big kudos to the instructor, Alexandra Juhasz, for having the courage to pioneer this. Interestingly enough, Jusasz isn't that happy with YouTube in the way it is set up and its content as of late. She argues, and this is something I have often said, that YouTube is kind of clunky. It's not easy to navigate, and when you want to know more about referencing or motivations for creation, it's often difficult to do so. People leave comments, but it's usually flames (people spamming comments because they do not agree with the message) or something like "Good job" which is a cop-out. Regardless, I think a class about YouTube is both bold and vital because it is so entwined in our daily lives! A few years ago, Prensky would say that it was a site for digital natives, but at this point, few people haven't heard of this video sharing phenomenon! As I said in my last post, it's changing everything!
Danah Boyd and Henry Jenkins' articles on MySpace argues that MySpace, despite all of the negative press around it, was not destined to perpetuate what Hine called the"teenage mystique." Instead, they maintain it is merely a way for teens to have their own niche in a world governed by adults and, more importantly, a place to forge a social identity. They both argue that social networking places like MySpace and Facebook are just places for teens to "hang out" and interact with one another. They thrive on comments and discourse. The authors also caution that the attacks and hype about the predation of teens on these sites is largely unfounded. The truth is, predators lurk wherever teens congregate - whether it be in the real world or the virtual world. Boyd and Jenkins both feel that these sites are necessary as an outlet for expression and communication in a world where their identity is constantly being called into question.
My thoughts and opinions on YouTube and the social networking sites revolves around one key issue: privacy. While I agree with Boyd and Jenkins that MySpace and YouTube are important, and that YouTube is a revolutionary, they can also be dangerous. Maybe it's just the digital immigrant in me, but I don't think so this time. The internet not only facilitates communication between teenagers, but it also makes it easier for those would do harm to them. This compounded with the fact that adolescents go through significant hormone changes, is a really bad combination. I think we have to remember that no all parents/adults are deliberately trying to belittle their teenagers into a identity oblivion! The internet makes it hard for parents to protect kids, and that is why we have to proceed with caution. It's not just predation, though. Identity theft, scams, bullying, and many other negative situations can occur. The internet is fantastic, but left unchecked, can really hurt us. For all of its good, in my opinion, there are equal and proportionate negatives.
Power's article about the YouTube course was really interesting! The fact that there is a college course specifically about YouTube and its role in our culture nowadays is really fascinating - and gutsy! A big kudos to the instructor, Alexandra Juhasz, for having the courage to pioneer this. Interestingly enough, Jusasz isn't that happy with YouTube in the way it is set up and its content as of late. She argues, and this is something I have often said, that YouTube is kind of clunky. It's not easy to navigate, and when you want to know more about referencing or motivations for creation, it's often difficult to do so. People leave comments, but it's usually flames (people spamming comments because they do not agree with the message) or something like "Good job" which is a cop-out. Regardless, I think a class about YouTube is both bold and vital because it is so entwined in our daily lives! A few years ago, Prensky would say that it was a site for digital natives, but at this point, few people haven't heard of this video sharing phenomenon! As I said in my last post, it's changing everything!
Danah Boyd and Henry Jenkins' articles on MySpace argues that MySpace, despite all of the negative press around it, was not destined to perpetuate what Hine called the"teenage mystique." Instead, they maintain it is merely a way for teens to have their own niche in a world governed by adults and, more importantly, a place to forge a social identity. They both argue that social networking places like MySpace and Facebook are just places for teens to "hang out" and interact with one another. They thrive on comments and discourse. The authors also caution that the attacks and hype about the predation of teens on these sites is largely unfounded. The truth is, predators lurk wherever teens congregate - whether it be in the real world or the virtual world. Boyd and Jenkins both feel that these sites are necessary as an outlet for expression and communication in a world where their identity is constantly being called into question.
My thoughts and opinions on YouTube and the social networking sites revolves around one key issue: privacy. While I agree with Boyd and Jenkins that MySpace and YouTube are important, and that YouTube is a revolutionary, they can also be dangerous. Maybe it's just the digital immigrant in me, but I don't think so this time. The internet not only facilitates communication between teenagers, but it also makes it easier for those would do harm to them. This compounded with the fact that adolescents go through significant hormone changes, is a really bad combination. I think we have to remember that no all parents/adults are deliberately trying to belittle their teenagers into a identity oblivion! The internet makes it hard for parents to protect kids, and that is why we have to proceed with caution. It's not just predation, though. Identity theft, scams, bullying, and many other negative situations can occur. The internet is fantastic, but left unchecked, can really hurt us. For all of its good, in my opinion, there are equal and proportionate negatives.
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