Everyday relational and communicative practices are increasingly shaped by the digital media and Internet has become pervasive in young people’s daily life (Riva, Scarcelli, 2016), however the consequences of the learning practices, behaviours and social interactions are still under debate (Guzzetti, Lesley, 2016; Pandolfini, 2016). The chapter investigates the relationship between young people and the use of digital media, exploring risks and potentials on youth’s socialization, sociability, identity building (Merico, 2018). It addresses the following topics: the online behaviour and the media consumption in school and nonschool settings; the management of the relationship with friends online and offline; the use of social network and the formation of social capital; the effectiveness of media education courses to limit the potential risks. Such topics are discussed according to data emerged from a research based on a standardised questionnaire administered to the students of upper secondary schools located in the urban and suburban areas of four Italian cities: Como, Genoa, Padua and Salerno. They have been interviewed 771 students attending the second and fourth years of the following fields of study: Lyceum, Technical institutes, Vocational schools. The survey has been carried out in 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 and administered through a CAWI mode in the informatics labs of the selected schools. The choice of schools and classes has been realised by a purposive sampling. The interviewees are distributed as follows: 43,5% are females, while males represent the 56,5% of the sample; 38,9% of students attend a lyceum, 39,2% a technical institute, 21,9% a vocational school. In terms of use of time, activities and consumer purposes, the online behaviour of young people can be grouped into three orientations: (1) the network as an amusement space, wherein the web is interpreted as a space for escape and leisure experienced by the use of content such as music, games, movies and purchases; (2) the network as an extension of opportunities for knowledge, resulting in a more informative orientation that also includes collection of information for school purposes and reading of newspapers and magazines online; (3) the network as a place of social experimentation, representing a particularly active online space characterized by participation in blogs and discussion forums, sharing media content and use of the network in ways intended to expand the user’s social opportunities. A focus is on the relationship between the use of social network sites (mainly Facebook) and the formation and maintenance of social capital; in addition to examine the consumption behaviour and use’ purposes, the chapter reports on the validation of the Internet Social Capital Scales (Williams, 2006), aimed at investigating two different types of social capital – “bridging” and “bonding” - for both online and offline contexts. The data analysis allows to discuss potentialities and risks related to the world of social networking, representing both a postmodern way of relational opportunity, producing multiplication of ties, as well as an expression of fragmentation of sociality itself. Then, the chapter analyses how the adolescents communicate and manage the relationship with friends online and offline. The data analysis highlights an integration between the online and offline modalities, where the online tends to remain on more superficial levels of the interaction, while the more confidential and intimate aspects tend to be managed face to face (with some significant gender differences). From the perspective of the relational skills, the topic of potentiality and risks related to the use of social media will be addressed (Pattaro et al., 2017). Lastly, the teenagers’ risk perception will be discussed based on the section of the questionnaire (adapted from the Eu Kids online survey – Livingstone et al., 2011; Mascheroni, Ólafsson, 2018) devoted to explore the problematic internet experiences. Finally, the responsible use of the media has to be connected with the attendance of media education training programs (Rivoltella, 2017; Garavaglia, 2014). The research highlights the impacts of such courses on the online behaviour of young people and on their perceptions of the risks connected to the use of technology. Moreover, data analysis shows at what extent young people consider parents and teachers as the main point of reference in enabling them to navigate responsibly and in training them about safety on the Web, providing some insights on students’ needs on this topic. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research and implications for educational policies, by debating critical points of the relation between socio-cultural aspects of society and digitization processes, questioning on the effects (expected and unexpected) on the lives of young people and the associated risks.
Youth and digital media: risks and opportunities on socialization, sociability and identity
VALERIA PANDOLFINI;
2020-01-01
Abstract
Everyday relational and communicative practices are increasingly shaped by the digital media and Internet has become pervasive in young people’s daily life (Riva, Scarcelli, 2016), however the consequences of the learning practices, behaviours and social interactions are still under debate (Guzzetti, Lesley, 2016; Pandolfini, 2016). The chapter investigates the relationship between young people and the use of digital media, exploring risks and potentials on youth’s socialization, sociability, identity building (Merico, 2018). It addresses the following topics: the online behaviour and the media consumption in school and nonschool settings; the management of the relationship with friends online and offline; the use of social network and the formation of social capital; the effectiveness of media education courses to limit the potential risks. Such topics are discussed according to data emerged from a research based on a standardised questionnaire administered to the students of upper secondary schools located in the urban and suburban areas of four Italian cities: Como, Genoa, Padua and Salerno. They have been interviewed 771 students attending the second and fourth years of the following fields of study: Lyceum, Technical institutes, Vocational schools. The survey has been carried out in 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 and administered through a CAWI mode in the informatics labs of the selected schools. The choice of schools and classes has been realised by a purposive sampling. The interviewees are distributed as follows: 43,5% are females, while males represent the 56,5% of the sample; 38,9% of students attend a lyceum, 39,2% a technical institute, 21,9% a vocational school. In terms of use of time, activities and consumer purposes, the online behaviour of young people can be grouped into three orientations: (1) the network as an amusement space, wherein the web is interpreted as a space for escape and leisure experienced by the use of content such as music, games, movies and purchases; (2) the network as an extension of opportunities for knowledge, resulting in a more informative orientation that also includes collection of information for school purposes and reading of newspapers and magazines online; (3) the network as a place of social experimentation, representing a particularly active online space characterized by participation in blogs and discussion forums, sharing media content and use of the network in ways intended to expand the user’s social opportunities. A focus is on the relationship between the use of social network sites (mainly Facebook) and the formation and maintenance of social capital; in addition to examine the consumption behaviour and use’ purposes, the chapter reports on the validation of the Internet Social Capital Scales (Williams, 2006), aimed at investigating two different types of social capital – “bridging” and “bonding” - for both online and offline contexts. The data analysis allows to discuss potentialities and risks related to the world of social networking, representing both a postmodern way of relational opportunity, producing multiplication of ties, as well as an expression of fragmentation of sociality itself. Then, the chapter analyses how the adolescents communicate and manage the relationship with friends online and offline. The data analysis highlights an integration between the online and offline modalities, where the online tends to remain on more superficial levels of the interaction, while the more confidential and intimate aspects tend to be managed face to face (with some significant gender differences). From the perspective of the relational skills, the topic of potentiality and risks related to the use of social media will be addressed (Pattaro et al., 2017). Lastly, the teenagers’ risk perception will be discussed based on the section of the questionnaire (adapted from the Eu Kids online survey – Livingstone et al., 2011; Mascheroni, Ólafsson, 2018) devoted to explore the problematic internet experiences. Finally, the responsible use of the media has to be connected with the attendance of media education training programs (Rivoltella, 2017; Garavaglia, 2014). The research highlights the impacts of such courses on the online behaviour of young people and on their perceptions of the risks connected to the use of technology. Moreover, data analysis shows at what extent young people consider parents and teachers as the main point of reference in enabling them to navigate responsibly and in training them about safety on the Web, providing some insights on students’ needs on this topic. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research and implications for educational policies, by debating critical points of the relation between socio-cultural aspects of society and digitization processes, questioning on the effects (expected and unexpected) on the lives of young people and the associated risks.
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