New Media's

Clearly, the label “Media Generation” fits today’s young people. More than any past generation, they have access to a wide, and still expanding, array of media in their homes, in their rooms, and, with the emer­gence of neatness, in their backpacks and pockets. They devote more time to me­dia than to any other single activity. Possibly, the emergence of digital media, their portability, and the kinds of meeting they have enabled are the powerful force behind the media. As high speed connectivity has expanded the communication capabilities of computers, whether in the form of desktop PCs, laptops, or, more recently, mobile phones, for today’s young people some form of digital instrument often serves as the gateway to both traditional and new forms of print media (newspapers, magazines, books, message boards, blogs, and chatrooms), audio media (both music and talk are streamed and downloaded), and audiovi­sual media (the latest mobile phone promo­tions trumpet anytime, anywhere access to and of course, each of these traditional “mass media” windows shares space concurrently with digital media’s enabling of new and extended interpersonal connec­tions e-mail, instant messaging, blogging, photo-sharing, or recording (some)one’s life on any of a number of social networking sites, such as Youtube and Facebook. Teenagers’ rapid adoption of these social functions not only attests to the importance to them of social contacts, but also seems to be changing at least large numbers of them from traditional media consumers into real time media critics and media producers of websites, fan fiction, YouTube clips, and more.