Interview of Adolescent

I set out to learn about the social media usage of an adolescent. What I learned was far beyond what I imagined!

I interviewed my nephew who is 16 years old and an advent user of social media. I know him as an out spoken teen that seems centered around himself and friends. He is a typical teenage boy.

I went into the interview with a set of questions that I thought would delve into areas that I felt were relevant to this assignment, but I found myself shocked and awestruck by the answers and started asking more in depth questions.

I first began to inquire about the personal aspect of being connected 24/7 -

• Being a teenager in the information age, how do you think that you fit in? What types of Social Media do you participate in? Do you feel that participating is expected or would you not fit in if you didn’t participate?
• Do you prefer texting to talking over the phone?
• Do you use different media types such as Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube? How do you feel when you are connected? How do you feel when you are not able to get online?
• Do you share differently online than you do in person? Do you post things that you may not want your parents to see or know? Do you feel more powerful when you can post online?

It was interesting to find that he felt that he fits in because he uses the social media and that if you do not participate you will be an outsider. He prefers to text if he does not need an immediate response or doesn't need to have an in depth conversation but was comfortable doing both texting and talking on the phone. He uses Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram frequently. He also reads many blogs and has blogged some.

He shared that his online presence is monitored by his parents, but, that doesn't matter because he respects himself and others to not post inappropriate things.

Then I changed a little bit to focus on the learning environment –

• Are you allowed to use your phone during the school day? Does the school have use policies for texting and surfing while at school? Do you think that it is a right to use your phones during school?
• Do your teachers incorporate different technologies or media in the lessons? Is using social media encouraged?
• Do you think that you can learn from the use of social media or is it just for entertainment and socializing with friends?
• Do you learn about the dangers and responsibilities of using social media at school? How do you learn what is acceptable to do online and what is not?
• Would you like to see more use of social media in the classroom to learn?

From here I started to learn more about his take on the global environment of social media –

• Do you think that social media enables you to learn about other cultures and societies?
• Do you feel that by contributing on social media sites you can shape the opinion of others about you and your community?
• Do you feel that you have a greater responsibility to others through online connections?

This is when everything got interesting, after asking about the global environment. He explained to me that there is a responsibility to others online. I asked him to elaborate on this. He stated, “Do you remember the earthquake in Haiti or the tsunami of Japan? How about the recent typhoon? We all tweeted and face booked together to share our thoughts, our feelings, our call to action for assistance. We all wanted to help anyway we can. This is what being online all is about. It isn’t as simple as look at me and what I can do. It is about what we as a community can do for others.” I asked him do describe what he calls his community and further was surprised by his answer. He started by asking me what my community was, and went to explain that his community was “everyone I can touch online and that can touch me, this is my community. Who can I share with and is willing to share with me”. I asked him what is being shared. He stated, “Emotions, trust, feelings, information, knowledge, smiles, and most of all the future of us!” He went further to say, “being online and using the social media takes billions of individual voices and combines it into one loud collaborative roar that can shake every bit of the world”. All I kept finding myself saying is “WOW!”

Online it seems, is not about a me generation and see what I can do. Being online is about a sense of being a part of something far greater, it is about belonging to the largest and greatest community ever – the human race!