Identity and Mobile Devices and Ubiquitous Online Environments

In reading the section on The Tethered Teen by Turkle (2008) page 125-127, I thought a lot about the idea of self-reliance and her description the rite of passage like in Huck Finn. When I was much younger, I was in the Boy Scouts and every year we would have a survival weekend. My first year doing this was at age 11 and we were responsible for everything. An older scout and a younger would take a map and compass and given a series of compass readings as well as yardage/mile numbers we would backpack into the woods using our orienteering skills to a predetermined campsite (marked by a 2’x3’ red flag). We would then build a shelter from materials found and protect the food that we brought in our packs because it would have to last for the remainder of the three day weekend. If you had an issue it was up to you and your partner to figure it out. Your matches got wet you better have brought you flint and steel if not how will you build a fire to stay warm. The idea of being able to rely on yourself (an almost as young teammate) was a very formative and liberating experience.

These days someone would have a phone pinpoint the location walk straight to it and if they ran into problem the phone would be able to help them deal with the problem. Not that the tool is not useful but I think the experience is lacking. At least we are not yet to the point of having little parachutes sent to us with whatever is needed, like in the Hunger Games. Based on my experiences I can see Turkle’s (2008) page 127, viewpoint about navigating the city. ”You are on your own and responsible. If you are frightened, you have to experience those feelings.” So I do think there is the possibility of youth of today missing out on this kind of self-exploration and reliance give that there is the safeguard of a phone.

I know children of friends, as well as numerous students, who can’t seem to make a move without parental input because they have never been without that safety net. Allowing yourself to make mistakes is what learning is all about but making that mistake has never happened for these students because the parents are always “on tap”.

Also in Turkle (2008) when considering identity, page 125, I got the sense that she is talking about more of a self-realized “core identity and how it evolves. In comparison Gee (2001) is not talking about a core identity but the divisions of identity; nature, institution, discourse and affinity. In in looking at how each can be looked at independently but are reliant on each other when identifying a “certain kind of person”, page 100. In that article while talking about the D-identity I ground my teeth while he explained that some people will seek the recognition to get additional undeserved benefits of the ADHD status for accommodations. These people are not very high on my list since they take resources away from those who truly need them.

The identity are of most interest to me is that of affinity Gee (2001) page 105. “The source of this access – the ‘power’ that determines it or to which the person is ‘subject’ – is a set of distinctive practices” made me think about Dr. Ito’s video and her explanation about those who go further into a media from the messing around stage to “geeking out”. Since these kids are targeting a specific media culture potentially they will seek out a population of like-minded individuals. Based on Gee’s definition “their allegiance is primarily to a set of common endeavors or practices and secondary to other people in terms of shared culture or traits”. To me they are a prime example of the D-identity.

Although a short article Pea (2012) with all that math made me think of a Jimmy Buffett song about math. The most intriguing thing to me about the results was about the face to face communication, page 334, in that multitasking and face to face was strongly negative and that face to face was still “the variable most closely associated with a wide range of positive feelings”. I was intrigued in that I have seen reports on the news where they interview children whose parents are always involved with their phones. In addition to the videos that we were to preview before reading the articles (The Colbert Report was both extremely funny but also very insightful) there are  additional reports that are out there about how kids fee here are just tow of them.

Many Kids Feel ‘Unimportant’ When Parents Are Distracted By Smartphones, Survey Says http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kids-notice-parents-screen-addiction_us_55a3e15ae4b0ecec71bc74e4

For The Children’s Sake, Put Down That Smartphone http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/04/21/304196338/for-the-childrens-sake-put-down-that-smartphone

To summarize, when asked, the children always felt like they did not matter or their parents didn’t care because their parent’s phone was so much more important. Are the girls in this study reflecting that same feeling? Not consciously but as if to say “If we are going to be friends why are you trying to make me compete with your device?” and how do they interpret their value and self-worth because of that? Just some thoughts.

BTW the adult leaders always knew where we were (they are the one who gave us the coordinates but when your 11 you don’t think about that). They would only stop by towards the end of the second day to assess and critique our site, nothing more. Although my father told me much later that they checked on us at night as well we felt like we were truly on our own.

Gee, J. P. (2000/2001). Identity as an analytic lens for research in education (pages 99 through 111 and 119-121  [the rest is optional]).

Pea, R., et al. (2012). Media use, face-to-face communication, media multitasking.

Turkle, S. (2008). Always-on/always-on-you: The tethered self. (pages 121 through 137).

For The Children’s Sake, Put Down That Smartphone http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/04/21/304196338/for-the-childrens-sake-put-down-that-smartphone

Many Kids Feel ‘Unimportant’ When Parents Are Distracted By Smartphones, Survey Says http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kids-notice-parents-screen-addiction_us_55a3e15ae4b0ecec71bc74e4