I didn’t quite know what to expect from the Ito article when I first read the title. Part of me expected a sort of dry, academic piece on “kids and the media” viewed from the lens of someone who sort of understands but still misses the mark. Suffice to say I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the section on “Geeking Out”, which is the type of new media engagement defined by Ito as “…an intense commitment to or engagement with media or technology, often one particular media property, genre, or type of technology.”
I would say this sort of behavior describes much of my childhood through adolescence: I would find some sort of community (gaming, politics, and the vast expanses of YouTube channels to name a few), attach myself to it, and learn as much as I could related to that subject. While someone from any other generation would likely look at this behavior of being glued to your computer screen as a purely negative thing, I can’t help but look back on those communities fondly and think that they were largely responsible for shaping my interests and personality as an adult today. I learned how to become an expert in a field (given one of little relative consequence) and from there, I developed larger obsessions that still carry on to this day.
Ultimately, I feel as though the rapid and frequent process of large sums of information via “geeking out” is surely defined as literary activity, and the interactive portion only confounds this, and is a reflection of how “new media” is affecting our literacy capacities later in life.
My question then is this: How much of your childhood was spent “Geeking out” in online communities, and how do you think it has impacted the way you view and utilize literacy today?
In the most concise way, it’s had a huge impact! I had most of the major experiences discussed in the article (socializing with friends, getting into small hobbies, etc), but only a certain percentage of that has had impacts on the way I view literacy.
More recently (as in, the past five or so years) a lot of the communities I’ve joined online have been very active sites of debate. The most obvious change would be the way it’s made me structure what I speak and write. It’s pretty common on the internet to see someone get eaten alive for saying something wrong, or even saying something misinterpreted to be something wrong. I’m more ready for a debate, when I give opinions, I try to make sure they’re ones I can defend. I take the time to think about these arguments, should one ever surface in ‘real life.’
In a slightly different way, it’s made me aware of different circles of thought. I suppose one of my hobbies is collecting, in a way, different online cultures, and learning how to function within them. Not for my own sake (because I’m typically a ‘lurker’) but because people are just interesting. There’s also a broader circle of social justice, and reactionary groups opposed to it. There is always a place on the internet where someone is arguing. Among these cultures and arguments is the opportunity to learn. There are LGBT and KKK and Postmodern and Fascist groups all over the internet, and groups for every other imaginable branch of thought. And each has their own idea of how to act and believe. In their cultures, there are literacies for speaking and moving within these circles. Watching these groups allows me to learn how they work, even if I don’t participate.
Geeking out as a kid was just my introduction to this, and a precursor to everything I know now. It’s shaped the way I navigate the internet and, sometimes, real life.
I also feel as if “Geeking Out” had an impact on my literacy use today. I never had one specific group that I immersed myself in. Rather, I fluctuated between many as a child and still do so now. This large amount of my life spent on online groups sharing a common interest has led to increased literacy in technology through my wide use of gaming systems and computers. In addition, the interpersonal communication creates friend groups outside of the classroom, creating a multi-cultural experience you cannot necessarily find in the classroom.
Overall, I think that geeking out led to a higher level of social development and technology development in my personal literacy. In addition, these opportunities still exist today and can continue to broaden my literacy. With more people using the internet than ever, these effects don’t have to stop at 19 or 20 years old. These groups can continue to exist forever, which is actually a very special thing.