Social Networking: The Ultimate Teen Guide

by Jennifer Obee

Overview

Social networking is now an entrenched activity for nearly every teen in the country. A recent study showed that nearly 75% of American teens use an online social network, a percentage that continues to rise. Librarians, such as the author herself, are often asked by young adults for help and advice on social networking, but teens also turn to their friends for information, which can be inaccurate or incomplete.

Social Networking: The Ultimate Teen Guide helps young adults make the most of their online experience, giving them a complete understanding of social networking while also addressing online safety. Author Jennifer Obee helps teens navigate through the challenging intricacies of social networks, covering such topics as:

• Facebook
• YouTube
• Twitter
• netspeak
• blogs
• privacy
• cyberbullying
• videochat
• smartphones.

With quotes from teenagers about their favorite sites and personal stories, Social Networking is the perfect resource for teens trying to gain a better understanding of the vast online world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810881211
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	05/18/2012
Series:	It Happened to Me Series , #32
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	260
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Jennifer Obee is the teen services librarian for the Standley Lake Public Library of the Jefferson County Public Library system (Colorado). She has served as the chair of the Teen Advocates Round Table, a committee of teen services librarians, and is part of a Teen Advisory Board for librarians. Obee is currently a part of the Colorado Teen Literature Conference planning committee and the Colorado Blue Spruce Book Award planning committee. She has contributed to books, articles, and bibliographies, including More Than MySpace (2009) and The Continuum Encyclopedia of Young Adult Literature (2005).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: This Ain’t Your Parents' Internet
Chapter 2: Stay Safe and Be Smart
Chapter 3: Stick up for Yourself: Cyberbullying
Chapter 4: If You're Friendly and You Know It: Keeping up with Friends
Chapter 5: Other Ways to Socialize With Friends Online
Chapter 6: The Mobile World
Chapter 7: How to Save the World
Chapter 8: Home-made Movies: Manage your Videos
Chapter 9: Attune to the Tunes: Managing your Music
Chapter 10: Say Cheese!: Manage your Photos
Chapter 11: Love Them, May as Well Follow Them: Celebrities
Chapter 12: Get those A's: Doing School
Chapter 13: Have Fun, Play Games, Avoid Boredom
Chapter 14: Kicking the Habit: When and How to Quit
Chapter 15: The Internet: The Final Frontier?
Suggested Reading List

Editorial Reviews

Gr 7 Up—Obee provides a sweeping look at the various possible forms of online networking. The book covers a mountain of material, but does so in a cursory manner. The author takes a mellow, conversational tone that encourages teens to communicate with their parents in setting online usage expectations and in discussing safety. Chatrooms and the likely accompanying bullying are discussed with an open-minded treatment of online access for children. Obee promotes self-regulation with respect to what's out there and provides resources for online support in the face of bullying. The "Keeping up with Friends" chapter details the mechanics of choosing and setting up various social-networking sites, and much of the material will be repetitious and old hat for those with competent computer skills. This is especially true when defining such concepts as "apps," the "share" icon, and emoticons. The comprehensive resources cited give a broad spectrum of social-networking tools and techniques, but it's unlikely that middle schoolers are going to pick up this wordy tome prior to launching their online personae and establishing their digital footprint. That said, it is a great read for parents who are seeking to better understand their children's online world and bring themselves up to speed.—Meredith Toumayan, The Langley-Adams Library, Groveland, MA

School Library Journal

While it is subtitled The Ultimate Teen Guide, this incredibly substantial and user-friendly manual is just as beneficial and appropriate for adults who wish to learn about social media and the Internet as it is for teens. This thorough guidebook provides practical information, constructive advice, and riveting facts about everything Internet related. It is not simply a book to be read but to be used and implemented. Its contents include chapters about cyber bullying; socializing online; using the computer for activism; managing videos, music, photos; Internet gaming; following celebrities online; and websites to help students (and their parents and teachers) with school projects and research. Peppered throughout the book are boxes containing computer statistics, fun factoids, tips, and quotes by teens and adults about a variety of computer issues, such as texting to coordinate group meetings, remedies for dealing with Internet addiction, and the beauty of blogging and vlogging. Also included are lists of common texting abbreviations, questionnaires to determine if you are addicted to the computer, and addresses of particularly fascinating websites to check out. Share this treasure trove of computer wisdom with every adult, teen, parent, teacher, and colleague who crosses your path. The only downside is that since the online frontier changes so rapidly, some of its contents may be obsolete by the time you are able to recommend it to your patrons. Recommend it anyway. Reviewer: Suzanne Osman

VOYA - Suzanne Osman