Conventional wisdom about young people’s use of digital technology often equates generational identity with technology identity: today’s teens seem constantly plugged in to video games, social networking sites, and text messaging. Yet there is little actual research that investigates the intricate dynamics of youths’ social and recreational use of digital media. Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out fills this gap, reporting on an ambitious three-year ethnographic investigation into how young people are living and learning with new media in varied settings — at home, in after-school programs, and in online spaces. Integrating twenty-three case studies — which include Harry Potter podcasting, video-game playing, music sharing, and online romantic breakups — in a unique collaborative authorship style, Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out is distinctive for its combination of in-depth description of specific group dynamics with conceptual analysis.

Also available in open-access.

While the in-depth description of this framework would in itself value the time spent reading this book, there is much more in it. It is highly suggested reading to anyone interested to know more about kids’ everyday informal learning practices with new media (especially teachers, parents, and policy-makers)
—Fabio Giglietto, Information, Communication and Society