It's Complicated

The Social Lives of Networked Teens

By: danah boyd

Narrated by: Beth Wendell

What is new about how teenagers communicate through services such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? Do social media affect the quality of teens' lives? In this eye-opening book, youth culture and technology expert Danah Boyd uncovers some of the major myths regarding teens' use of social media. She explores tropes about identity, privacy, safety, danger, and bullying. Ultimately, Boyd argues that society fails young people when paternalism and protectionism hinder teenagers' ability to become informed, thoughtful, and engaged citizens through their online interactions. Yet despite an environment of rampant fear-mongering, Boyd finds that teens often find ways to engage and to develop a sense of identity.

Boyd's conclusions are essential reading not only for parents, teachers, and others who work with teens but also for anyone interested in the impact of emerging technologies on society, culture, and commerce in years to come. Offering insights gleaned from more than a decade of original fieldwork interviewing teenagers across the United States, Boyd concludes reassuringly that the kids are all right. At the same time, she acknowledges that coming to terms with life in a networked era is not easy or obvious. In a technologically mediated world, life is bound to be complicated.

©2014 Danah Boyd (P)2014 Audible Inc.

I wish I had read this years ago

I have to say that the author challenged many of my assumptions about the modern teen that I've used as a parent. Sorry kid. It all made a great deal of sense and checked out with my own source. I also have lived through many of the changes in the world outside the Internet and recognize that the world of my child is not the world I grew up in. It's probably enormously safer, yet all the more scary. Sometimes we want our kids to do what we did, whether it's going to the mall or out riding bikes, and look around, are there ANY kids doing that anymore? No wonder they're all glued to their screens. I found it deeply impactful.

Fresh perspective

This book offers a fresh perspective on social media use by teenagers based on research data. A good read for all parents of teenagers.

No surprises if you grew up in the digital era

Let me get this out of the way first: I'm not the intended audience for this book. I graduated in 2005, when everyone in class had a live journal, MySpace was steadily moving towards its peak in popularity, and the first inklings of Facebook were starting to surface. In other words, while the services were still in their infancy, I was one of the "networked teens" that Boyd talks about in this book. "It's Complicated," however, is aimed squarely at parents who don't get the social networking phenomena, and want to understand what their kids are up to. This disconnect left me feeling somewhat disappointed in how remedial the content is.

With that said, as a person who grew up socially networked, Boyd hits the nail on the head with her analysis. Teenagers aren't replacing their real life friendships with social networks, they're using social networks to augment the real world bonds that exist and to overcome the barriers put between themselves and their friends. This should come as no surprise to the generations that have used these services, but it may still be reassuring to the parents that didn't.

The argument that Boyd puts together is cogent and interesting. She uses an effective mix of data and anecdotes to educate the reader on how social networks are really used by today's youth, being careful to avoid the hyperbole employed by both staunch opponents to social networks and overzealous supporters of the form. Social networks aren't destroying the youth of today, but they're not creating a glorious utopia, either. The more things change, the more things stay the same is the mantra of this book.

The reading is good. Wendell has an intellectual tone that matches the quality of the book; it feels like a long-form lecture from a college professor.

My only complaint comes from personal audience mismatch. As someone who used social networks as a teen, I was curious about how services that are used now differ from what I used. Also, considering how different networks have different cultures surrounding them, I was hoping for descriptions of those unique cultures (e.g. how does YouTube differ from tumblr?). This book contained none of that, and was mildly disappointing as a result.

Still, if you didn't grow up with texting, blogs, or facebook, you'll probably learn a lot from "It's Complicated."

A must read for anyone leading EdTech work in K-12

I took notes the entire time. This should be required reading for anyone invested in understanding how "digital natives" interact with technology.

Engaging and well read

I loved this book so much that I read it twice in a row. Excellently done. I would recommend it!