It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens

a thoughtful consideration of what it means to be young and online. dr. boyd writes with clarity about the ways young people negotiate invisible audiences, and the collapsing of contexts; how they contend with complicated online social dynamics, with issues of persistence, visibility, spreadability, and shaming. professor boyd is careful not to pathologize social media practice or use the panicked rhetoric we often see in the news ('millennials are doomed!' etc.). i think her chapter on privacy was my favorite. "there's a big difference between being in public and being public," she writes. how can we( better) reconcile acts of online exhibitionism and publicity with a sincere desire for privacy? overall, a great read filled with insight. recommended! five stars.

There are so many problems with this book. Irrelevant details are brought up but never discussed. Irresponsible dissuasions are prevalent. Radical claims are made without citation, while other trivial or well known claims are cited. Participant's situational awareness (or lack thereof) is rarely addressed so it is assumed every participant has the same level of information available to them, when that's simply not the case. Majority of the book has a tone of "they should be allowed to make their own decisions during this liminal period" yet talks about actual cases of child endangerment and other dangers children face online while downplaying their significance entirely. This book didn't age well at all since fairly innocuous childrens sites have come under fire for having fairly extensive predation rings, but boyd downplays this with severely outdated information (for the time of publication) that hasn't aged well at all. For instance, "the study found that only 4 percent of solicitations came from people known to be over twenty-five, whereas 76 percent came from other minors and the rest came from adults aged eighteen to twenty-four" citing the CCRC as source for such numbers, however the same center states that majority of perpetrators of sexual abuse against children are other juveniles or adults under the age of thirty with acquaintances being the main perpetrators followed by friends and family. This is not how boyd presents these numbers. She cites old studies and states that the teens themselves would sooner fabricate their own information to appear older when interacting with a potentially exploitative situation than the groomer themselves. Stating that a lot of these scare tactics are intentionally misused to misinform the public, she intentionally uses dated information to downplay actual dangers. Using a 2000 study in a 2014 publication where internet usage increased dramatically during that time is entirely negligent. In 2000, there was only 361 million Internet users. In 2014, there were over 2 billion. To think that numbers from a study of internet encounters among children in 2000 would reflect the statistics from a decade later when there were over a billion new users is intentionally manipulative and ethically wrong in light of this book's main argument of allowing children to have wider agency on the internet.

“It’s Complicated” was a fascinating read that shed light on a somewhat controversial aspect of our society today. The issue of teenagers and their interactions with technology is controversial because of the conflicted opinions shared between teenagers and adults. I am twenty-three years old, so it was easier for me to relate to Boyd’s opinions expressed by younger people in today’s culture. However, I also am an adult working in the professional world, so I do carry a diverse perspective. I found it very surprising and somewhat refreshing to hear her take such an optimistic role. I appreciated her point of view because she had done incredible amounts of research and conducted many interviews. Instead of acting solely on emotion or assumption, Boyd was focused on incorporating data and real-life examples. The ways that Boyd constructed her arguments throughout the book were honest and open-minded. In the ‘Danger’ chapter, Boyd stated: “As always happens whenever adults obsess over child safety, restrictions emerge and fearful rhetoric abounds (pg. 103).” I did notice how Boyd used absolutes like this throughout the book that weren’t always accurate. To say that something ‘always happens’ is an unrealistic extreme. I know parents who are overbearing when it comes to the safety of their children and they focus their fears by having healthy conversations, not automatically imposing restriction. Overall, the ways that Boyd argued were very fair in addressing both sides of the issue and giving teens a fair say in what was expressed. I found her stories to be engaging and accurate. One thing that I wished Boyd touched on more throughout the book was the issue of safety from a privacy standpoint for teens on the internet. A fear that I have for young people comes from the horror stories of young girls or boys getting involved with adults online and getting taken advantage of in vulnerable ways. I admit that this is an aspect of the digital world that I do not fully understand so I do want to know how I can better equip young people to not fall into those traps. I found it interesting when Boyd said: “When parents choose to hover, lurk, and track, they implicitly try to regulate teens’ practices. Parents often engage in these acts out of love but fail to realize how surveillance is a form of oppression that limits teens’ ability to make independent choices (pg. 74).” I see what Boyd is talking about here, but I do wonder how to achieve the balance of having some sort of surveillance without making teens feel limited. It would have been nice for Boyd to elaborate on this more. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and appreciated Boyd’s refreshing style of writing that provided clarity and perspective on a prevalent topic in our society today. I would recommend this book to be read by educator’s and parents who desire a holistic understanding on the social lives of networked teens. Boyd creates awareness about many aspects of the online world while also helping eliminate misconceptions that adults might have. If we are to better reach our students today, I think we need to be more like Boyd and try to understand their desire for an online presence from their point of view.

danah writes from experience and this translates well into the book. The content is straightforward and easy to grasp. The overall theme is that the kids are alright and parents can stop worrying. There are a lot of details and stories contained within to bolster this theme. Parenting hasn't changed much in the past century. The fact that kids go online to escape parents should be nothing new. My generation rode bikes and was away from the house from dawn to dusk. The same reasons apply to over-scheduled kids today and why they hang out online. If you're an mature adult and a parent, this book will be easy to read and make sense to you.

Don't worry that this book is 'out of date'. You may think that because social media moves so quickly that a book written 2 years ago may not be able to fully outline the world we live in today. This book preempts and counters that argument very early on. If you have children, or you are a teacher, you need this book. The relationship between teenagers and social media is complex and vast, but this book will clear up a lot of the doubts you have. The book is written by an anthropologist, not a social media guru.

I really enjoyed reading this book which looks at the use of social media by teens and seeks to find a reasoned view. It does not hide the fact there are problems but sets them in context. This left me more reassured but more importantly empowered to look at my own teens' use of social media and hopefully be more helpful overall.

Currently studying self perceptions and self presentations of youth subcultural tribes, and this book has been very useful to my research.

Thank you

Really very good. Great insight on the ways we use the new public space.