Growing Up Under a Microscope: How Teens Achieve Privacy in Networked Publics - Sponsored by Dropbox for Education

There is a widespread myth that young people don't care about privacy. Embedded in this myth is an assumption that participation in public networks formed through social media like Facebook and Twitter and Instagram indicates a rejection of privacy. Yet, just because youth want to participate in public life-or even in acts of publicity-doesn't mean that they are looking to have their life under a microscope. Frustrated by ongoing surveillance, many youth develop innovative approaches for achieving privacy in public settings. This creates new complications and challenges for parents, educators, and caring adults who are trying to help youth successfully navigate and learn in a world shaped by social media.

In this talk, danah will draw on ethnographic work with American youth to examine how young people understand privacy, explore the strategies they take to achieve privacy in networked publics, and reflect on how their practices introduce new conundrums for those working in education.