PEW, Videos, and Survey

The most surprising thing I read was that older boys are more likely than girls to use social networking sites to make new friends. At first, I interpreted this as just "friending" people in order to say you have more "friends." But after re-reading it, I started to think it meant actually meeting up with people using the site. When I think of people being concerned with how many "friends" they have, I think of that as female trait. But then I thought about men looking for women to date which would correspond to why boys make more friends through the sites.

Another interesting statistic to me was that only 55% have a social networking site. I expected a lot more than that. It surprised me how Myspace was updated the most. I didn't know people still used Myspace.

It surprised me how random those teens were in their behavior. It seemed like one thought jumped to another, and that these thoughts were seemingly unrelated at times. This was more true for Boxxy than Sexman, but even Sexman had his moments. Boxxy's voice was interesting to say the least. She was talking a mile a minute while her voice kept changing. Her hands were everywhere, and it really seemed like she couldn't sit in one place for a second. Sexman seemed significantly more calm and spoke at a much more consistent rate. I am a bit concerned about Boxxy's well being. I'm not sure what Gaia is but the fact that she's posting videos intended for strangers concerns me. I just hope she doesn't try to actually meet these strangers. Also, Sexman was very vulgar for his age. The fact that he loves fights and uses such foul language worries me about what he could do in the future. I feel like he could really hurt someone or get hurt from his love of fights. What I find most surprising, though, is how many views both of their videos had accumulated. I don't understand why so many people watched their videos.

I am an Ambivalent Networker.

"If you are an Ambivalent Networker, you have folded mobile devices into how you run your social life, whether through texting or online social networking tools. You also rely on ICTs for entertainment. At the same time – perhaps because of the volume of digital pings from others – you may sometimes find all your connectivity to be intrusive. You are confident in your ability to troubleshoot your various information devices and services."

I am a bit surprised that I scored as an ambivalent networker. I don't think I run my social life though texting or online. I don't even know what ICTs or digital pings are. I feel like facebook is a good way to catch up with friends you don't see as often such as peers from high school, friends you grew apart from, and even people from your hometown. My entertainment sources don't have to involve technology, though, as I can easily spend the entire day reading a good book. I don't find my connectivity to be intrusive at all. I enjoy being connected to the entire world and find it pretty amazing.