Background

__**Identity -**__ there are tensions between understanding who we are as individuals and the many ways in which we identify with others: cultural, social, biological, linguistic identifications as well as shared values, personal histories and interests. Each of us have a unique biography but this may change and vary depending on who we with at any point in time, social situations, personal motivations. Identity is not just about personal growth, it is also about the self-determination of peoples. Identity is fluid and only becomes an issue when it is threatened and needs to be expressly asserted.
 * Why is this research important?**

The developmental theory of identity, Piaget, Erikson & Marcia, states that adolescence is a critical period of identity formation in which young people overcome uncertainty, become more self-aware of their strengths and weaknesses and become more confident in their own qualities. This can only happen if the adolescent undergoes a crisis in which s/he has to answer questions about her/his values, ideals and sexuality. The answers to these questions then have to be confirmed by others. It is also a time when young people start to move away from their families and establish themselves in peer-groups. Sociologists take a different perspective and look at the //socialization// of young people rather than their //development:// they consider young people //become// under the passive influence of adults and have been particularly concerned with the issues of deviance and delinquency. They acknowledge that the nature of youth varies considerably according to different social contexts and are apprehensive about the ways in which young people appropriate cultural commodities and then use them for their own devices. This is particularly relevant to specific youth "sub-cultures" who resist and/or oppose the imperatives of parent culture resulting in contradictions and tensions in social order and threatening social norms, however recent research has argued that the opposite may be true and that youth cultures are as hierarchical and exclusive as other social groupings. To date there has been relatively little research on affluent, middle-class youth who belong to the more mundane and conformist groups of young people.

Research into the social and cultural dimensions of young people's identities is relevant to understanding their interactions with digital media. We need to acknowledge how commercial forces both create opportunities as well as set limits on the development of digital cultures; we also need to understand how access to these media and the ways in which they are used are impacted by differences related to social class, gender and ethnicity. On the other hand we also need to consider how these media provide young people with symbolic resources for constructing and expressing their own identities as well as for evading or directly resisting adult authority. There is a large and varied body of work within sociology, social psychology and anthropology concerned with the relations between individual and group identities. How do young people label and categorize themselves and others, how do they become members of particular groups; how is the sense of community developed and maintained, and how does the group discriminate/protect themselves against outsiders; how do the boundaries between groups operate and how do groups relate to one another? These processes operate at both the individual as well as the societal level: individuals make claims about who they are but the claims need to be recognised by others. In seeking to define identity, people try to assert their individuality but they also try to join with others and work to sustain a sense of status or self-esteem. As a result the formation of identity involves a process of "cognitive simplification" that allows people to distinguish between self and other and define themselves and their group in positive ways. Jenkins argues that social identity should not be seen as a fixed possession, but as a social process in which the individual and the social are closely related. Identity is a fluid, contingent matter which is accomplished practically through ongoing interactions and negotiations with others.


 * __Digital Literacies -__** Goldman suggests that we engage in front- and back-stage behaviour. When "on stage" individuals tend to conform to accepted definitions of situations and of their roles within them. "Back stage" they have the opportunity to be more open and honest and to possibly contradict the "on stage" impressions. This may have interesting implications for young people's uses of digital and social media where questions of rules and etiquette are crucial. The issue of performance is also relevant to the ways in which young people construct digital identities. The question of whether these identities are more or less truthful and honest is an issue of concern.

Digital Citizenship

//Other research://
 * What other studies have there been in this area?**


 * How will this research add to knowledge in this area?**

|| I'm particularly interested in the concept of fragmentation: much of what we watch and listen to and read is "sampled" today, much of it is copied and taken from moments in time from our history whether that be musical, social, academic, art, political.... but for young people who have little notion and memory of history, how do they make sense of what they are watching, listening to, reading and how does this impact on the development of their moral identity? how does this new literacy landscape dominated by "copyright criminals" impact on the cultural capital of adolescent society? ||
 * What do you want to find out?**


 * What is the main question you wish to answer?**

What digital literacies are young people using both in and outside of the school environment?
 * What are the specific questions you will ask to address the main question?**

How are young people making responsible and ethical choices online?

Are young people provided with appropriate opportunities to develop the necessary skills required to interact with digital information and are they educated about the ways in which this information is gathered, put together and "shown"? Are international schools adequately prepared to provide young people with the necessary digital literacies, and how can both policy and PD influence administrators, faculty and the wider community to think about this important issue? How are international schools, as central institutions for developing young people to fit in within the reality of contemporary society, prepared to deal with this challenge? Are middle-class Hong Kong families involved in guiding their children to deal with the risks associated with the "copyright criminal" culture?