Harnessing the Potential of New Media Spaces

We live in an age in which sociologists are recognizing a symbiotic relationship between emerging generations and new media. ‘Screenagers;’ ‘Net-Gen;’ ‘Cyberkids;’ ‘Digital Kids;’ ‘Generation @;’ and even ‘the My-Space Generation’ are some of the terms used to describe children and teens today. While I might not be a fan of traditional generational theory, they are on target when they identify that media has played a defining role in the lives of children and adolescents during that past 15-20 years.

A 2006 report from Business Week reports that 87% of American youth use the internet. 65% instant message (IM). 44% go online every day. (Note: Listen to the Podcast developed with this report). The Kaiser Family Foundation’s latest report on Media and Kids identifies that even the ‘digital divide’ - that separates the ‘technological haves’ from the ‘have-nots’ – has been radically reduced. For example, MIT is currently developing a laptop that would cost only $100 to purchase! Teens and kids interact with media at school, at home, at church, at their community centers, in cars, and even while walking down the street! Even when working with kids in community centers, we have seen kids carrying Gameboy SPs and MP3 players!

What are these new media? They can be anything from the free virtual diaries known as blogs/my space/xanga sites; to MUVEs (Multi-User Virtual Environments) and MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games); to convergence media/technology like PSPs (a handheld game console/internet/music sharing/movie watching/communications device) and IPods (music/movie/photo-sharing/internet device).

What are the implications of this reality for youth work in Salvation Army Corps and Community Centers? I would argue that these new media spaces serve as an excellent virtual meeting space which has the potential to be transformational. For example, blogging encourages a child (like writing) to become a producer of media. Blogging can also be a means by which a person can reflect on everyday life. A MUVE requires collaboration and communication skills to be developed. Inevitably, conflict resolution and critical problem solving skills can be cultivated in such learning environments. We are at the point in history where games are becoming more about virtual social networks than they are about individual game play. Online games can even provide a space where there is the potential for ‘play therapy.’

However, this potential is dependent upon what is done with such spaces – in much the same way as a gymnasium has the potential to transform lives depending upon what curriculum is facilitated within its’ walls. This in turn is largely dependent upon how the youth worker/coach/gymnasium facilitator makes use of this opportunity. The potential of new media spaces can be harnessed through acquiring what is known as media literacy skills; and the cultivation of cognitive and social apprenticeship skills. Part of our training at Project 1:17 seeks to develop these skills and help our youth workers find ways to maximize this potential for the sake of the gospel; and thereby increase the future possibilities available for at-risk children and teens.