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danah boyd: Culture Matters (and is overlooked)

Filed at 1:48 am on October 18, 2006 • Leave a comment

My mother first bought us a computer because it would be educational.  My brother was pretty good about using it to learn how to program, but i was fascinated by the ability to socialize.  She was not so thrilled at our first $700 modem bill and began questioning how much we were actually learning.  My brother and i just started logging in after she’d gone to bed (we’d figured out how to make those phone bills go away).  

I spent much of my senior year sleeping through every class so that i could get online late at night.  My grades neither improved nor atrophied, but the people i met online gave me a reason to get good grades: tis the best way to get out of suburban Pennsylvania.  I met a transsexual woman who taught me gender theory in her own way.  I learned how to hack the school’s announcement system.  Most importantly, i learned about a world beyond my own.  

In a culture that is obsessed with formal education and college admissions, it’s hard to remember that there are other things that teens must learn during their formative years.  It is during that period that they are socialized into culture.  All of the artifacts of the day play a role in that process and youth are quick to take hold of what’s available and repurpose it to express themselves.  The biggest misconception about youth, digital media, and learning is that it’s all about maths and reading.  While these are valuable, it is also critical for youth to engage with culture, learn who they are and how to relate to others.  

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