Now Back It Up: Sources for the Cycle 1 Project

Goff, Karen. "Social networking benefits validated." The Washington Times 28 Jan. 2009.

Google. Web. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/28/social-networking-benefits-validated/?page=all#pagebreak>.

In this article, Karen Goff, who has written for The Washington Times since 1992, explains The Digital Youth Project which was a study by the University of California Berkley and the University of Southern California. In this study, over 5,000 hours of online observation were done among youth and found that skills such as self-expression, communication, and technology competence were improved based on the amount of time that was spent online. Mizuko Ito, who had a huge hand in writing the study, mentioned that by being on the Internet so much, young people were able to gain skills that are very necessary to survive in this time when technology is so essential. Social networking was a topic mentioned in terms that it helps youth expand their social circles not only by connecting to so many people that they know but also people from all over the world that share common interests. A main and crucial point that was made was that adults (in this case parents) need to accept that technology is an essential part of their children’s generation.

This is a very useful source, at least coming from the vision I have for my paper. It provides a specific example of the benefits of Internet usage and social networking, which I plan to focus on. At the end however, Goff begins to talk about how parents need to watch their children’s Internet usage which is totally true, but is irrelevant to what most of the article has discussed. Other than that, I would suggest taking a look.

University of Minnesota. "Educational Benefits Of Social Networking Sites Uncovered."

         ScienceDaily, 20 Jun. 2008. Web. 1 Feb. 2012

This articles discusses a study done by the University of Minnesota.The study included urban high school students ages 16-18 from the Midwest. 77% of those students had a profile on a social networking site and claimed to have learned skills such as technology knowledge, communication, and expression of creativity. Christine Greenhow, who works for the University, says that these are skills needed to be successful in this century and that this Internet uses has “tremendous educational potential.” As in the first article, adult cooperation is mentioned in the form of saying that educators need to consider what these students are learning and help them get more out of these skills.

            This article is much like my first, serving as a specific example, but focuses more on the social networking aspects as opposed to general Internet usage. It lacks some details, but I also find it interesting how education is brought into the conversation. I don’t feel that many people would openly bring up that potential when considering the benefits. I suggest checking out this source if you need a specific example for support.