Year: 2014 Source: New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.(2014).281 p. SIEC No: 20140296

What is new about how teenagers communicate through services such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? Do social media affect the quality of teensÕ lives? In this eye-opening book, youth culture and technology expert danah boyd uncovers some of the major myths regarding teens’ use of social media. She explores tropes about identity, privacy, safety, danger, and bullying. Ultimately, Boyd argues that society fails young people when paternalism and protectionism hinder teenagersÕ ability to become informed, thoughtful, and engaged citizens through their online interactions. Yet despite an environment of rampant fear-mongering, Boyd finds that teens often find ways to engage and to develop a sense of identity.