Dissertation
Everyday life information ecologies and continuums of technology use of teens from an urban setting
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Aug 2015
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/etd-7093
Abstract
This dissertation examines how teens from an urban setting interact with technology as a part of their everyday lives, and how people, practices, values, and technologies intersect within the contexts of their technology use. Attention is focused on their continuums of technology use, ranging from heavy use to non-use. The participants include nineteen teens from an urban area in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, who participated in the study during the 2014-2015 academic school year. This research employs a variety of methods to learn more about these participants' experiences with technology, including a survey, voicemail and photo diaries, a creative activity, and a semi-structured interview. The resulting data is analyzed using thematic analysis and directed qualitative content analysis, as well as supplemental visual analysis. Several contributions come from this analysis, including a deeper understanding of how teens express values impacting their continuums of technology use, a portrait of teens' diverse uses of smart phones, and a description of audience as key factor for teens' content creation and sharing literacy practices. The work also identifies four factors that influence teens' decisions to use or limit their technology use: local policy and access, affective state, life stage and goals, and relationships. These contributions and their implications are discussed, as well as details about how these concepts can contribute to future work and engagement with teens in research, practice, and personal settings.
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Details
- Title
- Everyday life information ecologies and continuums of technology use of teens from an urban setting
- Creators
- Rachel Michelle Magee - DU
- Contributors
- Denise E. Agosto (Advisor) - Drexel University (1970-)Andrea Forte (Advisor) - Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- xii, 203 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Information Science (Informatics) (2013-2026); College of Computing and Informatics (2013-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 7093; 991014632436904721