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I watched the video twice because it is just chocked full of information. I picked up on a variety of keywords and ideas that I would like to flesh out here on my blog. Let's start first with social grooming. Social grooming, via Wikipedia (I know, it's bad!!), is the act of animals grooming one another in order to build relationships. Social grooming in the context of the web, means saying nice things about one another to build or showcase relationships. If you think of social networking sites, like Facebook, you find people saying hello, saying nice things to each other and about each other -- social grooming. Though I am not in the population discussed in the video, I am able to see social grooming on my own Facebook pages as friends say hello and reinstate their friendship or husbands and wives posting words or images of love for their spouse.
I found the 'friends structure' portion of the video very interesting. When I first started my Facebook page, I hated friend requests from high school acquaintances. But as time went on and I opened up my social network on Facebook, many individuals from high school become part of my friends structure. They became part of my audience, they are the people I write to and for. Having a friend's structure that concentrates on individuals that are similar in some way (students, tuba enthusiasts) creates an audience of people with common interests or themes, gives us a new community to be a part of and socialize with.
The portion of the video on the definition of privacy for young people was fascinating. I especially found the use of pronouns an interesting tactic that students use to promote privacy in very public venues. I never even considered that the born digital generation would consider the idea of privacy in a very different way from other generations. The idea of being so open so that people think there is nothing you keep private, but it's really just a shield of openness to deflect from the really important things that teens want to keep private.
Just a really interesting video. Did you pick up on the same keywords and themes that I did? Did you feel the presenter did an adequate job explaining the use of social media and young adults to an audience of administrators and faculty? Were you concerned when she began discussing the dismal skills of current high school and middle school students?
Hi, Jess! I too picked up on the "social grooming" term. I was intrigued as well, because as often as reaffirming comments are posted to friends and loved ones, there's a lot of negativity out there too. I posted a similar comment on someone else's blog (can't remember whose at the moment!), but I find the various ways people use Facebook very interesting. I also didn't quite know what to make of the monkey photograph used in Boyd's presentation - I found myself vaguely insulted in a way I couldn't quite define! :)
ReplyDeleteI was very concerned about Boyd's thoughts on education, especially because I have a middle-school-aged sister. Some of what she said resonated - I can see it happening. But at the same time, I think that social media has some role in the situation. I'm not sure which issue bears more weight, though. Great post!