Tweens Were Aware Of The Limitations Adults Imposed On Their Information-sharing

By Author: Tony Allen
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The tweens realized that these barriers were part of the parents' concern for their safety and welfare. Examples from the focus groups included: "My mom says I can't go to the mall until I turn 12 years old." "He [a friend] lives up by a highway, so I can't ride my bike up there." "My mom doesn't really like that chat room thing, so she put me on a kid AOL." "I know when we can Juicy Couture Necklaces go over there [a neighborhood hangout] and when we can't. On Tuesdays it's really, really bad over there, like there's people that smoke and they drink back there, so I don't go there on Tuesday nights."

During the interviews, most tweens (seventeen of twenty-five) agreed that there are many places, that is, information grounds, where they can go to share information with their peers. These places included physical settings, such as school, home, friends' homes, church, shopping malls, and public parks, where they routinely gather with friends to socialize; they also include virtual environments. Tweens also noted that they use asynchronous virtual ...
... spaces, including chat rooms, Weblogs, and multiuser Web sites to "display their feelings" (Mr. Blackwood, University), "write whatever you want," or "have an interesting conversation" (Austin, University). Communication technologies that preteens reported using with their peers were e-mail, instant messaging (IM), and the telephone. Some tweens, however, identified significant barriers to information-sharing, either for themselves or for other kids they know. These barriers fell into three categories: the safety of public spaces, concerns for tween privacy, and the authority of parents and adults. Omar (Ministry) suggested that some neighborhoods are dangerous for preteens, preventing them from Juicy Couture Jewellery gathering conveniently: "Some kids live in neighborhoods where you can't just walk down the street and go talk to other kids your age."

Tweens often do not want to share information in the presence of adults, particularly concerning personal issues, and this limits the number of places where they can socialize and the type of information that will be shared. Rose (University) explained: "Some places have grown-ups, and some preteens don't really like to talk about private stuff once grown-ups are around." Megan (School) reported that parents often intrude on youth conversations, which can interrupt information-sharing meant to be between peers: "When you're talking with your friends about something and then maybe an adult or your parent is walking by the door and they hear and then they come in and start telling you everything about their personal experiences." Tweens were aware of the limitations adults imposed on their information-sharing, both on their mobility and on the types of communication media they could use with peers. Madison (University) explained that some tweens have more freedom and mobility than others and that this is a product of parental or family dynamics: "Some parents want [tweens] to stay in the house and help do chores and that kind of stuff, so they don't get to hang out with their friends very much. And other preteens, their parents don't care where they go. So they can go anywhere, and just get information from there." Sydney (University) did not feel that she had many places where she could talk to friends outside of school or her room: "I don't have a lot of places except for my room, or if I have my friend over or something." Kylie (University) expressed the limitations of parental permission to engage in some forms of information-sharing: "I'm not allowed to go on IM or chat rooms, so I basically have the phone, and e-mail, and face-to-face."