Social Networking and its Effects on Teens

In the media there are many examples of how social networking has played a dangerous role in teen lives. However, positive examples of how this technology supports teen literacy skills and developmental growth are not always so readily accessed. For that reason, we believe that librarians should play an active role in educating parents, teachers and other members of the community about the positive benefits of social networking in teen lives. The following examples of how you can educate your community provide a starting point. When planning, be sure to enlist your Teen Advisory Group (TAG), teens that spend time in your library, or teens in the community to guide you in a plan and implement ideas. For example, they could convert online resource guides and pathfinders to a wiki format, “a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser” (“What is Wiki”). Therefore, students and teachers can collaborate on these resources. Wikis give users of information the chance to add their own ideas about tools and resources that are found to be useful in the research process. Create and distribute brochures and post information online about what your library is already doing to ensure that children and teens are safe online. Also, include information about Internet filters and Internet Acceptable Use Policies that your library has.

Invite parents and educators to a workshop where they can learn about a variety of social networking tools. In the workshop, have librarians and teachers discuss how these tools are being

integrated positively in the classroom and library. Have teens with well-designed Face book and

MySpace profiles, and Twitter pages, etc. demonstrate the positive ways...

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...nt with friends per week, there is a mean of 10.6 hours, a median of 8 hours, and a mode of 12 hours. The last step is sharing the results; this can be done in many ways. However, we are planning to share our findings to the classmates by a PowerPoint presentation. This will allow them to evaluate our research. It also shows how our findings are related to the literature, reviews what has already been published on topic and demonstrates how the findings support or reject the theories that apply to the topic.

Works Cited

Shepard, Jon M., and Robert W. Greene. "Chapter 2: Sociologists Doing Research, Section 3: Procedures and Ethics in Research." Sociology and You. New York: Glencoe/McGraw Hill, 2003. 58-59. Print.

"Wiki: What Is Wiki." Wiki: Welcome Visitors. Portland Pattern Repository, 27 June 2002. Web. 15 Feb.

2011. .