by danah boyd. Through hundreds of interviews conducted with teens and their families around the United States, boyd is able to dynamically explore teenagers’ use of and experiences with social media. Her primary objective is to figure out what is really new in teens’ daily lives and what is the same old story just dressed in new clothing. She finds that teens’ struggles and exploration with identity, privacy, bullying, and risk-taking are generally the same as they were before social media, but that social media has expanded the spreadability and visibility of these struggles, making teens more vulnerable to the negative consequences. Boyd also attempts to shift the debate from what teens are actually doing online to why they are doing it. Increasingly limited free-play and parental hypervigilance, she argues, prompt teens to forge their own communities online away from parents. But when given the option, teens will always choose to hang out with their friends in person.

It’s Complicated argues for understanding and support, rather than panic over teens’ online lives. The social tools teens use to navigate their world remain the same as before; the only thing that has changed is the medium through which they use them. Therefore social media should also not be viewed as an isolated threat, but rather as an embedded part of our society continuously shaped by existing social structures.

Boyd sums it up nicely:

Just because teens can and do manipulate social media to attract attention and increase visibility does not mean that they are equally experienced at doing so or that they automatically have the skills to navigate what unfolds. It simply means that teens are generally more comfortable with—and tend to be less skeptical of—social media than adults. They don’t try to analyze how things are different because of technology; they simply try to relate to a public world in which technology is a given.

The staff had an insightful and thoughtful discussion about the book, reflecting on our own concerns and opinions about social media and its impacts. Our next book club book is called Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan, Dave King, and Halee Fischer-Wright. The discussion will be on Aug 17 at our Bucks location. Please let us know if you can join us.