Adolescent Interview

I interviewed my teenage cousin about his technology use and discovered some very interesting things.  Even though it was hard to get answers from him since he's not much of a talker, he did say things that made me think about the world that teens his age are living in and how they are navigating it.

We discussed the technology that he uses like his cellphone, Xbox, tablet, and laptop computer as well as what he sees and uses at school.  At school they don't use as much technology as I would think, but they do limit the usage of cellphones to lunch times and study halls.  They only use Smartboards in their classrooms, though they do use an online learning service called Castle Learning.  This is where teachers can post assignments and students can create quiz and test practice materials. 

We also talked about which of his electronics he uses more often and why, and he basically stated that his cellphone and tablet were used because they can be brought anywhere.  The amount of apps that he can download and use with friends such as Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat which he also mentioned factored into his answer.  He said that he uses text more often than calling someone because it was faster, and only posts to social media every once in a while.  He is mostly on social media to see what his friends are posting or doing.

He is also a gamer and plays a specific war type game on his Xbox.  He said it is a group game that he plays with the same players every time and I believe he considers them friends.  He has made sure to only play when he has completed his school work and has free time.  I asked if he knew where the people lived who were playing with him and he said one was from Arizona, from Saudi Arabia, and from Canada which is "not that far away.".  Even though he only lives a few hours from the border here in New York, I still thought it was interesting that he would say that.  It seems that for our younger generation the world is a much smaller place, and they can connect with others around the world very fast.

We ended with a short discussion on what he thought might be some good or bad things about social media and he mentioned cyber bullying.  I asked him if he had ever been bullied and he said no, and so I asked what he would do if he saw it happening online.  He said he wouldn't get involved, but then said he might if it was one of his friends.  I also asked him about texting and driving, but he said he would just connect his phone to the bluetooth in the car so he wouldn't have to worry about it. 

My cousin is involved with sports and a couple of community activities that keep him occupied, as well as parents that make sure he is keeping his grades up in school.  I believe that his outside activities he is a part of influence how much social media he uses all day.  He has found something that he really loves and I think the technology he uses with becomes secondary to those.  He still finds time to have fun and use them, however finding an activity that you really enjoy gives you the socializing and responsibility that teenagers need when growing up.