The Shifting World of the Internet

Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet and American Life Project, and a great speaker, shared the following at Internet Librarian 2005 this morning:
* “the more invisible the technology, the greater the impact”
* “broadband is the norm”
* “those with hot relationships with the Net are hyperconnnected”
* 12-17 year with their use of instant messaging, cell phones, text messaging, picture taking, etc. are “redefining what it means to be present/be with other people”; proximity matters less and less
* “with today’s teens, the conversation never ends”
* it’s a media ecology for today’s teenagers — they are media creators with their stories, photos, blogs, art work, etc.
* teens are multitaskers, generation M for media, who spending 8.5 hours/day online but only 6 hours in real time
* new term — continuous partial attention rather than multitasking is something to keep an eye on as a major behavioral change — sort of like a radar that is always on and lights on this or that — more on that from Liz Lawyley tomorrow