"It's Complicated": The truth about teens and social media
In the beginning of the informative novel, It's Complicated, Danah Boyd gives an in depth understanding to why teen lives revolve around social media. Boyd explains how social media use is completely normal, and is a crucial part of teenage life. She met with many teens and parents across the United States from 2005 through 2012, and discussed various topics within the online world. One of which was what Boyd reffered to as networked publics, Boyd's term for an online community. She states that instead of hanging out with friends in person, teens connect with eachother within the walls of their bedrooms. Boyd points out that teens also tend to represent themselves differently online. For example, one of the girls Boyd met with represented herself as Jessica Smith on Facebook, but littlemonster on Twitter. Boyd refers to this as teens' online identities. She explains that context is the most important aspect of online identity. She concludes that it is important to evaluate the situation and other aspects before making assumptions about something or someone online.
