// Blurred realities

Blurred Realities

 

 

It seems to me that we need to re think our perceptions of how people, particularly younger people prefer to communicate.

 

We are used to the accepted or traditional methods of chatting and discussing with friends and colleagues by phone, over a coffee or, even more traditional the art form of by letter.

 

But what I now understand is that many people use electronic communication as their first choice. For some young people it is the only way of keeping in touch with their friends and they spend perhaps at least 1 hour a day keeping up with who is doing what. They have many networks of friends and wider acquaintances who share in the daily goings on and queries on a much wider scale than many older people are used to.

 

Perhaps we have moved to,’more is less’ as opposed to ‘less is more’ position with our depth and perhaps quality of communicating, whether it is at work, school or at home. Texting has added to the quick ‘chit chat’ exchanges on a more widespread scale and who hasn’t got a mobile phone?

 

At Aimhigher Humber we have done alot of thinking and research about the type of web site that would be right for us and our learners and practitioners, whilst at the same time wanting to make sure it was of a type and quality that learners particularly would respond to and engage with.

 

We looked at many interactive media sites some commercial and some voluntary sector or related to charities as well as having focus groups of younger people consider what would work best for Aimhigher learners.

 

It soon became clear that the older persons perception (I include myself in that category, sadly) and the younger persons perception were very different and if we really wanted learners to keep in touch with us, their school or college Aimhigher co ordinator and each other, particularly in more rural areas we needed to listen hard and step outside our very traditional ways of thinking.

 

The result is the web site we now have, and I think it is as good as we can make it with the guidance we have had from younger people and web experts from all around the country.

 

But, I think we have a very real change taking place in what is understood as direct access or contact with one another.

 

The traditional view is that direct access to another person uses physical contact, whereas the remote electronic type is not therefore direct access, physical or otherwise.

 

As a result of the web site research and many and varied discussions with younger people, web experts, safeguarding officers and many others who are concerned with younger people’s safety in their use of the internet I think that we have very blurred realities as to what makes for direct physical access or contact.

 

For younger people who use web based communication as a natural activity of daily living it creates a virtual physical access. It does this on a number of different levels. The physical business of creating a time space and discipline associated with this activity of daily living is remarkable in someone who is not necessarily so organised in other aspects of their life. The mental concentration and almost total immersion that many feel when checking up on the friendship networks means that the communication experience is direct and internal felt reality for that person in physical terms with in built rewards which ensure the experience will be repeated.

 

So, how can we all keep safe in using newer and ever changing ways of communicating with each other? It seems that at the end of the day it is about our own behaviour in being web wise, street smart and taking care of what we let other people know about us.

 

To close access would, in the words of an experienced colleague, create ‘the locked drinks cabinet affect’ He means by keeping new experiences locked away we only create a more dangerous environment for younger people to live and operate in.

 

The key to that cupboard is in the pocket of older people who have responsibility for making sure that we are all street smart on the web and in knowing our own value.

 

 

Anne Shaw

 

Aimhigher Humber September 2008