Overview

“boyd’s new book is layered and smart . . . It’s Complicated will update your mind.”—Alissa Quart, New York Times Book Review   “A fascinating, well-researched and (mostly) reassuring look at how today's tech-savvy teenagers are using social media.”—People   “The briefest possible summary? The kids are all right, but society isn’t.”—Andrew Leonard, Salon   What is new about how teenagers communicate through services such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? Do social media affect the quality of teens’ lives? In this eye-opening book, youth culture and technology expert danah boyd uncovers some of the major myths regarding teens' use of social media. She explores tropes about identity, privacy, safety, danger, and bullying. Ultimately, boyd argues that society fails young people when paternalism and protectionism hinder teenagers’ ability to become informed, thoughtful, and engaged citizens through their online interactions. Yet despite an environment of rampant fear-mongering, boyd finds that teens often find ways to engage and to develop a sense of identity. Boyd’s conclusions are essential reading not only for parents, teachers, and others who work with teens but also for anyone interested in the impact of emerging technologies on society, culture, and commerce in years to come. Offering insights gleaned from more than a decade of original fieldwork interviewing teenagers across the United States, boyd concludes reassuringly that the kids are all right. At the same time, she acknowledges that coming to terms with life in a networked era is not easy or obvious. In a technologically mediated world, life is bound to be complicated.

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9780300199000

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Reviews

'The book took a decade to complete, and cites sociologists including Michel Foucault and Erving Goffman, but it's the voices of the 166 teenagers Boyd interviewed across America that make it a truly enlightening read.' (Jane Mulkerrins, The Sunday Telegraph) 'It's Complicated, a new book about teenagers and digital technology by the media scholar danah boyd, places today's smartphones, iPads and laptops in the context of this perennial power struggle between adolescents and parents. In doing so, it adds much to our understanding of a young generation of hyper-connected, hybrid consumer-producers - a cohort whose behaviour often unites parents, educators and investors in collective bewilderment.' (Gautam Malkani, The Financial Times) 'There are a lot of interesting observations here: that most teenagers aren't digital natives as we like to believe.' (Carole Cadwalladr, The Observer) 'It's Complicated champions a rich, complex idea of what youth is about, and views with horror the way adult discussions so often reduce the young to mute metrics.' (Simon Ings, New Scientist)

Author Information

danah boyd is Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, Research Assistant Professor at New York University, and Fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society. She lives in New York City.

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