Study: Internet use key to youth development

Teenagers' use of digital media is critical to their development of social and technical skills that are critical to life in the digital age, according to a study released recently.

The study found that teens engage online in two distinct ways: friendship-driven and interest-driven. While friendship-driven participation in digital media represents itself through virtual "hanging-out" with existing friends, interest-driven participation manifested itself in ways that proved to be beneficial to the development of the young people observed by the study.

Through interviews of over 800 young people and their parents and 5,000 hours of observation, researchers from the Universities of Southern California and California, Berkley found that interest-driven participation online led teenagers to information and communities that weren't present in their local peer groups.

Connie Yowell, the director of education at the McArthur Foundation - which funded the study - summed up the conclusions of the study:

"Learning today is becoming increasingly peer-based and networked, and this is important to consider as we begin to re-imagine education in the 21st century."

Many of the young people examined in the study initiated in "geeked-out" learning opportunities finding information about subjects such as astronomy, creative writing and foreign languages abundant online. They also were able to connect with people in a variety of different locations who have interests similar to their own - interests, which often weren't popular or valued within their own peer groups.

The lead author of the study Mizuko Ito explains how the Internet changes the learning process:

"Kids learn on the Internet in a self-directed way, by looking around for information they are interested in, or connecting with others who can help them. This is a big departure from how they are asked to learn in most schools, where the teacher is the expert and there is a fixed set of content to master."

While young people do use the Internet for social reasons more often than they do for interest-driven reasons, even their social interactions forces youth to negotiate new kinds of dynamics, such as managing elaborate networks of friends and acquaintances.

Unfortunately, despite the vast benefits that use of digital media can provide for the development of young Americans, a new report by the Center for the Digital Future found that "fewer young Americans have Internet access than their peers in the Czech Republic, Canada, Macao and Britain."

The study, which surveyed Internet use in 13 countries, reported that only 88 percent of Americans between the ages of 12 and 14 use the Internet, compared to 100 percent in Britain and 95 percent in Canada.

New Study Shows Time Spent Online Important for Teen Development (MacArthur Foundation)

American youth trail in Internet use: survey (Reuters)