When I began to think about my answer to this question, I thought of my own experiences first, and then realized that the way I interact with others online and face-to-face is actually very different from the way teens navigate the different spaces. After giving it some thought, I am inclined to say to teens, online and real-world interactions are probably more aligned and more similar than they are to adults (slightly older adults, actually—I can’t believe I turned 40 this year).
My contemporaries treat online culture as a separate space
from our “real” lives. We put thought into our online personas, take time to
choose and edit our postings, and create a face to show the public. Because we
have such busy lives, being online feels very different from physical space
interactions because our physical presence is so scheduled that every
interaction is important. Online, however, we can pop in and out, check on
things at all hours, and even send texts and emails without expecting an
immediate reply.
From what we read in Hanging
Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out, it seems that teens move between
online worlds and physical worlds more fluidly, where they could be talking to
a group of friends and texting another at the same time. Or they could physically
be with someone working on what to post to present themselves to the world (p. 85).
So for me, online culture is distinct and different because
I think about every post, and what it says about me. I enjoy keeping up with
people I don’t see very often, just by seeing what they are posting. I only
text close friends, and (with the exception of my husband) don’t expect people
to reply immediately because I know they’re busy too.
Teens, however, can occupy multiple spaces at the same time.
They also use the online medium to facilitate physical interactions, such as
going online or texting to see if someone wants to meet up (p. 39). Because
most of the people they interact with online they also see daily, online
personas tend to match their offline personas. When they don’t, this can cause
stress and drama within relationships (p. 100).
It was interesting to learn about how teens use online tools
for socializing and learning. I kept thinking that this book was published in
2010, and in the intervening five years, so much has changed. It all must be
different even now.
