Kids talk about the Internet

What do young people think about the internet?

As many of you know we have been conducting a series of Kids' Colleges at the Museum for the past three years. The 2007 e-kids' college focussed on digital technologies, how young people use the web and how e-learning related to museums and young people. Around 24 students from schools across NSW attended the day and gave us a heap of feedback which we used in developing our new website.

One of the tasks we set them was to complete the sentence: Not being able to access the web is like not being able to ..., and here's some of what they said:

Walk, breathe, talk, eat, survive, socialise
Get access to water
Open a chest
Get an education
Access a whole new world
Go to school
Wear clothes and be fashionable
See the sun
Travel around the world, explore my inner self or broaden my horizon
Read a simple book

Interestingly, another study undertaken in the US, The Web Makes Me Feel, did a similar thing, being "... an insights project exploring how young people feel about the web and also the reasons behind the emotions." It's worth checking out.

We have written about the e-kids' college study in a paper here and here.