How do young people use blogs and social networking?
Firstly, they sign up and create their own profile or ‘space’. Often, these contain standard sections such as ‘About Me’ and ‘Who I’d Like to Meet’ and also include things like Music, Films, Sports, Scared Of and Happiest When. They can also add specific personal details such as physical appearance, and the school you go to. Most sites also have a blog (see ‘What is a blog?’ for definition) where children can write daily thoughts or include articles which they find interesting. An important element in social networking is young people’s ability to customise their ‘space’, e.g. by changing the colour of their profile, adding applications to their profiles, uploading images or pictures onto their profile. One of the pictures can be chosen to be the “default image” and this will be seen on the profile’s main page. There is often also an option to upload videos as well – including music videos and personally recorded films.
