I have not had enough time to digest this report yet, but it certainly looks like a comprehensive study into just how today’s youth are utilising online technology.
Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project
Most youth use online networks to extend the friendships that they navigate in the familiar contexts of school religious organizations, sports, and other local activities. They can be “always on,” in constant contact with their friends through private communications like instant messaging or mobile phones, as well as in public ways through social network sites such as MySpace and Facebook. With these “friendship-driven” practices, youth are almost always associating with people they already know in their offline lives. The majority of youth use new media to “hang out” and extend existing friendships in these ways.
