METHOD
We conducted a paper-and-pencil survey and a series of
ethnographic interviews. Survey participants were widely
recruited in the affluent and technologically sophisticated
Palo Alto, CA area. Sixty-five individuals (23 boys/38 girls,
aged 12-18) responded, mostly from one 7th grade & two 12th
grade classes and a girl scout troop. The survey consisted
of 10 forced-choice questions on communication media use
patterns, and one question on after-school schedules; it
took only minutes to complete.
Participants for the ethnographic interviews included 13
teens, (6 boys/7 girls), 11 survey respondents & 2 siblings.
All had home Internet access; 5 had cell phones & 2,
pagers. Interviews lasted 3 hours, including some
observations, a discussion of their social networks
(referencing buddy lists, address books, phone lists, etc.,
and including a social map task, in which teens drew “a
map of their friends and how they are connected to one
another,”) and an extended unstructured discussion of
communication patterns & preferences and media use
experiences. We especially focused on recent specific
examples. Interviews were audiotaped and some photos
were taken; social maps were sketched on a blank sheet of
paper. Converging findings came from interviews with 13
more local teens in different but related studies.