"With almost every girl and boy in Australia using the internet - 93
per cent, according to the latest reckoning - a new 'kid society' is
blooming.
Internet messenger services, email, text and mobile phones are
broadening children's social networks and making them virtually
inseparable from one another.
As far as the online industry is concerned, internet use among young
people is at saturation point. It is such a part of family life that 6
per cent of households report that they keep their computer in the
dining room. A further 25 per cent have it in the living room,
according to a new survey of internet attitudes by RedSherriff....
And while children may log off, they never leave. Their circle of
internet friends gets bigger with the inevitable transition to mobile
phones in the early teens. And that is when the messaging starts....
Internet and messaging exchanges between children and teenagers are
inevitable and mostly positive, Associate Professor Nightingale said.
'The kids also quite like little digital cameras and use the cameras to introduce themselves to each other,' she said.
Writing a message means disclosing more feelings and creating deeper
relationships. Mobiles and SMS were more 'here and now' than the
internet, she said." [Sydney Morning Herald, via Smart Mobs]
Should librarians care about this widespread adoption of instant
messaging, connectivity, and interactivity by teens and tweens? New Scientist implies the answer is a pretty resounding yes.
"Today's teenage generation is now the biggest the world has ever
seen, according to a UN report released Wednesday. One in five people
on Earth are adolescents between 10 and 19, and about half the world's
population is under 25....
However, if their healthcare and social needs can be met, the
adolescents could develop into the largest, most vibrant workforces
ever seen when they reach adulthood.
'It's a pig in a python thing,' Marshall told New Scientist. The
large teenage blip on the demographic chart will grow older
demographically dominating the smaller younger and older age groups."
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