2nd Reader's Blog

Summary:

In both readings by Armstrong and Boyd, the main idea of finding a young person’s identity is presented. Armstrong focuses on how teenagers should be a “poser” in order to find out who you truly are. She points out that people are complex, and therefore should try everything, while stressing that you don’t have to belong to just one group. Boyd offers the treacherous struggles of how teenagers conduct themselves in situations, while pointing out the struggles of online networking. The current teenage culture is found to be filled with those who are struggling with self-presentation, and that their information being put forth is often taken out of context, leaving young people to navigate the social world with these added challenges (i.e. school scholarship, girl tagged with beer on social media).

Comment:

Although both readings deal with the idea of identity, they approach this subject with different ideas. Armstrong uses her own personal journal and experiences, along with the use of the second person pronoun, to connect with the readers. Her idea is much more aggressive, saying teenagers should try everything and be uncomfortable to find out who they truly are. Boyd takes a defensive position on the idea of self-presentation online, saying the collapsing of contexts obstructs a young person from presenting themselves in their preferred manner and how they articulate their intended impression (similar to “poser”).

Questions:

Why does Boyd bring to the forefront the idea that young people should not be held to the same standards as adults? In other words, for what reason does she feel so strongly that adults shouldn’t define the context with adult values? Should young people not be held to the same standards just because they are teenagers navigating a complex network?