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[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
Ten years ago, MySpace didn’t exist. Neither did Facebook. Just one site, called SixDegrees.com, dominated the online social networking market. But soon a bunch of sites sprouted up: LiveJournal, Friendster, LinkedIn, MySpace, and in 2004, Facebook. Back then, Facebook was just for Harvard kids.
The researchers surveyed 600 urban teens from families making less than $25,000 a year. Nearly all the kids said they go online, usually from home. And more than three quarters of them have pages on MySpace or Facebook. The students say they’ve learned valuable technology skills in the process: they edit and upload photos, videos and music, and some of them even mess with html to personalize their pages. The researchers say teachers might want to build on that experience. Slipping a little MySpace between reading and ‘rithmetic could be really rewarding.
—Christopher Intagliata
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5 Comments
Add CommentYou mean, poor people can use computers too? I was under the impression that it took a master's degree and a six figure income to use a computer. Thank you for proving me wrong Scientific American!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisErin, thanks for listening. You may have been surprised because PAST STUDIES HAVE FOUND A 'DIGITAL DIVIDE' BETWEEN RICH AND POOR KIDS.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI wonder how these 600 subjects were selected.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat is small sample and may not be sufficient characterize the much larger population.
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Edited by Bradley at 06/28/2008 9:08 AM
Does anyone know where to find the researh at the Univ of Minnesota that is referenced in the statement here?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBNeimeyer, thanks for the interest. This is an ongoing study started earlier this year. It will probably be published in Fall 2008. You might be interested in these videos:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www1.umn.edu/urelate/newsservice/Multimedia_Videos/social_network.htm