Why Study Adolescent Engagement With Social Technologies?
A robust adolescent online culture has emerged, yet little attention is given by formal education authorities to the implications of bringing these technologies into the classroom (Lamb & Johnson, 2006). Crook (2008) suggested that the slow uptake of Web 2.0 technologies in schools is due partly to the lack of teacher familiarity with these technologies and partly to the perceived dangers of using these technologies in the classroom. As a result, incongruence is growing between students’ informal and formal learning environments (Griffin & Aubusson, 2007) and there is a subsequent need to examine this shifting landscape. Technology plays a special role in the life of today’s adolescents. Increasing numbers of young people are comfortable using Web 2.0 technologies to express themselves: creating and publishing new media content; contributing to creations such as artworks, audio, video and photographic products, and creative writing postings. A UK survey conducted in June 2006 of 1,003
