To truly understand what impact emerging technology has on childhood, it's important to first get a grasp on just what kinds of media and technology matter to kids. What's important to kids right now? Television is as popular as ever; we know about videogames; IM'ing is on the rise, as is text messaging; what else? How are children and young adults expressing themselves in cyberspace, and what does it mean for emotional, intellectual, and psychological development? Are the boundaries of the self expanded, now that one young person's ego can be accessed by so many? An eight year old attuned to a global media culture, with a potentially unknowable influence felt beyond perceivable borders, is forging a new path in the experience of growing up human.

What does it all mean for parenting? Consumerism? Childhood development? How is emerging media going to affect children's literature?

Ultimately, what does the digital divide look like for a two year old? How about for someone who has just turned fourteen? If there is a new skill set crucial to being able to communicate, what is it?

In this community, we'll work on answers to those questions, and consider how people age fifteen and under are engaging with new media and in what context. Importantly, the answers to these questions will be consistently reshaping themselves, meaning that it will be important to look five, ten, even twenty years into the future as the patterns of early childhood through young adulthood evolve over time. One tangible goal of this community is to be able to outline a set of mediated learning tools that under-resourced parents can provide to their children in order to better prepare them for school.