'I'm Dylan and I'm not going to say my last name': Some thoughts on childhood, text and new technologies

V. Carrington

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Discussions of text and the literate practices of the young have always taken place against larger backdrops painted in particular historical, cultural and ideological patterns. In the contemporary era, the emergence of weblogs (blogs) and their rapid uptake by young people all over the world provides an interesting insight into the tensions that emerge as views of children, technology and textual practice intersect in a particular historical, cultural and ideological moment. This article suggests that the emergence of new technologies and new textual practices poses a significant challenge to traditional views of literacy and childhood. It undertakes a textual analysis of samples of the ways in which blogging and bloggers are represented in the media and contrasts these discourses with the production, dissemination and use of blogs created by two young people. This small slice across blogging serves to highlight the deeply rooted tensions between some models of childhood and some contemporary practices around text, technology and information.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)151-166
Number of pages16
JournalBritish Educational Research Journal
Volume34
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2008

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