Studying Young People's New Media Use: Methodological Shifts and Educational Innovations

A lack of good information about what youth are doing with new media stimulates fears and hopes about the relationship between young people and digital technologies. This article focuses on new modes of inquiry into youth new media use, highlighting the challenges, complexities, and opportunities inherent in studying young people's digital cultures. It outlines methodological issues unique to studies of youth and new media, such as accessing populations of respondents, benefits and drawbacks to online qualitative research, and challenges in capturing a snapshot of young people's actual, not self-reported, media practices. This type of qualitative research on youth media cultures and practices can guide educators who are developing pedagogy and policy that integrate young people's mediated practices into the educational process.