Read an interesting article in the New York Times today - "Teenagers’ Internet Socializing Not a Bad Thing." According to a study from the MacArthur Foundation (who has supported our YMEX project:

their participation [online in social networking] is giving them the technological skills and literacy they need to succeed in the contemporary world. They’re learning how to get along with others,

The rest of the article goes on to discuss that the amount of the time spent online is actually a good thing and leads to a ton of informal learning. A couple of days ago, I was participating in a panel on New Media at International Cooperation Days in Ottawa and one of the panelists, Leonard Brody of PublicNow mentioned how there is a belief that people born after 1981 actually have their brains wired differently, and are optimized for the environment that we live in - Internet enabled and connected to online communities with people all around the world: like TIG.

The more time that we spend online, the more connections we make with our peers, the more we learn about issues that we become passionate about, and then perhaps: the more inclined we will be to make a positive difference.

Just a couple of thoughts for your day...