Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out Jonathan Mejia

Hanging out  Friendship driven online relationships.  Staying connected online to offline groups, like  Always on communication (MacArthur)  New media influences flirting/dating now. “Oh, we’re just texting.”  Created new dynamics in dating, our social life, and how we interact face to face.

Positives and Negatives PositiveNegative Creates bonds, friendships, and interactions Produces hierarchy of friendship Continued learning at home Distraction from other priorities Fosters a new way to meet people Can lead to exclusion Promotes autonomy in teens and users Creates a “this-for- that” mentality amongst users Creative outletDrama goes viral 4/07/25/study-shows-the-power-of-social- influence-5-ways-to-avoid-the-herd- mentality/

What groups are you apart of as a result of ‘Hanging Out’? How has new media affected your life in regards to “Hanging Out”

Messing Around  A solo act of information gathering and link following  Self-teaching  Online surfing for fun  Discovery of new music, books, work-outs, recipes, etc.  More interest-driven

Many sites are dedicated to the discovery of new things.

What connections in the transition between “hanging out” and “messing around” can you see? Do you feel as though “messing around” only benefits someone with new media literacy? Or do you think this process is much simpler?

Geeking Out  Holds high value for knowledge, which is shared over forums or online chats  Serious and competitive gaming, and social gaming groups  A more deep understanding of technology and how things work ex. Coding, proxy servers, and hacking  It is a mode of learning that is peer- driven, but focused on gaining deep knowledge and expertise in specific areas of interest(MacArthur).  This form of participation is not merely consuming but accessing and producing to contribute to the knowledge network. (i.e. internet forums)

Recognizing how each form affects one another.  How does each form work with each other?  What are some barriers that prevent participation?

iles/report/digitalyouth-WhitePaper.pdf /07/25/study-shows-the-power-of- social-influence-5-ways-to-avoid-the- herd-mentality/ es/titles/free_download/ _ Hanging_Out.pdf Sources