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On Friday May 2nd, I had the privilege to attend a Digital Natives Forum at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. The event was labeled as an “interdisciplinary roundtable discussion: Investigating young people’s use of digital and networked technologies.” When I arrived, I was surprised to discover that I was the only teenager, or “young person”, at the meeting. I already felt out of place.

Background

The event was amazing - I found out how adults observe and understand teenagers’ use of technology and the Internet. At the beginning of the meeting, there was a short presentation by Andrea Flores and John Francis citing research conducted about kids using technology. They talked about identity, privacy, skills and tools for teenagers and adults, and the importance of design. For more about the content of the forum, check out this blog post and my Twitter, I live-blogged most of the meeting.

Silence

I didn’t speak during the entire meeting, only to some people individually during lunch. I wish I had spoken up. I learned, but didn’t teach. It felt like people in the room didn’t understand what kids were about. With the exception of a few, it seemed that people were only beginning to formulate their opinions; it was too early to introduce the young-person’s point of view. Being a teen in the room, it felt like we were being addressed as the problem that needed fixing. Per usual, adults were assigning issues to kids. As the group discussed how some kids feel safer sharing their thoughts online versus offline, I only felt comfortable sharing my thoughts on Twitter. I let the group silence me.

For next time…

The only problem, I can think of, was the lack of primary sources, or “young people,” in the room. Yes, case studies and reports were cited throughout, but as my history teachers tell me, you need primary sources to support your argument. I was the only teen in the room, and I wasn’t even previously involved with the project. It is difficult to discuss teens, or any other group of people, without them present. Not only that, it is undiplomatic to discuss and refer to teens as if they’re not in the room, when in fact, I was sitting right there. My presence was never acknowledged - the adults failed to exploit me as a resource. It felt weird having adults tell me how I used technology.

Video about the event

Digital Navies Forum from Kabren Levinson on Vimeo.

Or on Viddler.

Kabren Levinson
kabren@kabrenlevinson.com
www.kabrenlevinson.com