Wired whizzes of techno-slaves? Young people and their emergent communication technologies

In this chapter we want to examine the reality behind these labels by examining the place of emergent technologies in the lives of young people. In doing so, we review and synthesize some of the key research in this area, highlighting the principal topics and potential issues of interest for future study. Although much has been published in the popular media, until fairly recently relatively little had been written from a more scholarly perspective. The overview we offer here is based on a wide range of academic research dispersed through a variety of disciplines including geography, sociology, psychology, education, communication and media studies. Studies reviewed also include surveys and quantitative data analysis, ethnographies, interviews, observations, content analyses, and focus groups.