Children, libraries and social media: a research perspective

Jan Nolin

To best serve our children libraries need to be less about the past and more about the future

Main point

Are the prime target of modern ICT They are the early adopters Open experiment Parental generation cannot support Can libraries? Can schools?

Who else could help?

Children of today

Dual perspective: emancipation and criticism

Outlook for the future: a forecast

1.Social media more diversified and ubiquitous

2.The Internet of things3.Vulnerable future4.Smarter tools = smarter children?5.Radical transparency?

Forecasting the future

1) Social media more diversified and ubiquitous

Libraries should plan ahead for this Hold regular theme evenings Help users with new cool things such as

augmented reality and new social media Counter social media monopolies by

communicating variety

Libraries should help users discover cool stuff

how can I quit Facebook? How do I link identities? How do I tag this

document? Why is my Wikipedia entry deleted? How can I do social shopping? Etc Are these problems for libraries? None else

to ask face-to-face. Libraries are trusted sources Libraries can build up social media of their

own to support each other

Libraries should provide information literacy for social media

YouTube generation lacks local publication and distribution facilities

School libraries and public libraries can help young people become more connected and more visible in local areas

Libraries can facilitate creation and distribution

Libraries can help users become prosumers (prosumer pic from digado.nl)

Allow users to upload content Social tagging Physical tagging Allow users to become involved with

content, exhibitions, strategies etc. Promote Creative Commons

Libraries could let go of the catalogue and ”bestånd”

Professional resources for local business community

local business with local community associations with new members associations with other local and national

associations Social network for various local groups Support sustainable development

Why couldn’t the public library be the hub for community local networking?

Libraries need to be aware of this looming future

Allows librarians a perspective on future developments that can guide supporting strategies

What is the Internet of things?

2) Our children are expected to live in ”the Internet of things”

The Internet of things: initial idea (1999- )

The Internet of things version 2: all things online

IPv6: number of addresses for each person on earth 340 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000

000 000 000

The Internet of things version 3: ambient intelligence

The Internet of things version 4: Web of things: online smart objects (2009- )

We become surrounded by Semantic agents Wearable interface Intelligent sensors Intelligent interactive things intelligent interactive web things All gossiping about people in the name of

convenience

The European commission on the Internet of things The Internet of Things (IoT) is an integrated part of the

Future Internet and could be defined as a dynamic global network infrastructure with self configuring capabilities based on standard and interoperable communication protocols where physical and virtual “things” have identities, physical attributes, and virtual personalities and use intelligent interfaces, and are seamlessly integrated into the information network.

In the IoT, “things” are expected to become active participants in business, information and social processes where they are enabled to interact and communicate among themselves and with the environment by exchanging data and information “sensed” about the environment, while reacting autonomously to the “real/physical world” events and influencing it by running processes that trigger actions and create services with or without direct human intervention.

Possibilities Risks Drive discussions

Librarians could help children manage life in Internet of things

3. This is a vulnerable future for our children

Drive toward convenience: connect all our resources together

Everything is on the Internet: our lives are locked into the net

Smart technology means huge access/openness/power =vulnerability

Within a few years… At least a few kids in every class will be able

to do sophisticated hacking… Be able to hack classmates, teachers and

parents…

Smart tools for hacking makes hacking easier

Hacking is like lock pickingAll locks have flaws – more access more flaws

Pick one lock – open all

3 clusters of weak spots Hardware (hundreds of components in your

car) Software (firmware for these components) Network (wireless access to the

components)

3 clusters of opportunities for specialized hackers

Cars are ideal objects for attack Car industry does not work with a unified

operating system Still, everything is connected to everything

else No protection system Only need access to one component Such as tire pressure control device

CarShark White hat experiment Permanently increase volume on radio Produce warning chimes Falsify readings from Speedometer Disable antilock brakes Stop engine Disable individual tires

Violates our natural system of sensing danger

Information sharing functionality with the assumption that devices are unbreakable

Convenience = complexity = more safety problems

We don’t have resources to security protect or check each component

Any component is a potential spy/terrorist – and there are hundreds

We usually don’t know of problems as they interact or are updated

The hacker only need one weak point

To insert a backdoor

Each gadget increases vulnerability

Adam Laurie (a.k.a. ”Major malfunction”), white hat hacker

New hacking frontier: DVD, TV, Xbox

Components are built to be upgraded by firmware: often lacking authentication

Terrorism by firmware update overload

Social networking adds vulnerability

Firesheep

Security works best in layers, convenience doesn’t

Nothing is unbreakable, each layer only slows down the hacker

And hacker work is becoming more convenient and powerful each year

Theme afternoons Initiate discussions Advice on safety routines and trust in

technology Communicate ”safetymillitude”: act as if

you are vulnerable on the net, because you are

How can libraries support our children in this vulnerable future?

3.Our children will have smarter tools: will that make them smarter?

Convenient technology taken to extreme makes work something robots do

Extremely personalized services disallows personal growth

Semantic agents finds, reads, filters and simplifies relevant information to us – but that is part of learning

Semantic agents organizes and recommends strategies for social relationships – but these are vital life experiences

Our children are not learning How to develop relationships without

technological support Advanced planning without technological

support How to exist off-line

Smart tools creates the illusion of being at the center of the universe

Many receive greatest achievements, thrills and appreciation in games

”Reality, compared to games, is broken.” ”Where, in the real world, is the game sense of

being fully alive, focused, and engaged in every moment? Where is the gamers feeling of power, heroic purpose, and community? Where are the bursts of exhilarating and creative game accomplishment? Where is the heart-expanding field of success and team victory?”

”our population devotes its greatest efforts to playing games, greatest best memories in game environments, and experiences its biggest successes in game worlds.”

Gamification of life

Technology is not a choice

Dangerous filtering – widen perspectives Too much power to helpful tools (becomes a

crutch) Counter extreme personal services Counter extreme gaming Support off-line existence Counter gamification Drive discussions

Librarians could counter

4. Radical transparency for our children?

Facebook moves constantly toward radical transparency

All analog activities will be digital –Can be processed, organized, indexed.

Made easily searchable

And graphically structured (iPhone app 0.99$)

Facebook timeline: create a narrative of your life (wall+ profile)

”You have one identity… Having more than one identity is a lack of personal integrity.”

Where is that identity? In our words? In other peoples words? In our networks? In our surfing action?

Google: you have one algorithmic identity

Geolocation: Works both ways

From surveillance to sousveillance

Catopticon: everybody watches everybody

Opportunities Risks Drive discussions

Librarians could communicate library values

1.Social media more diversified and ubiquitous

2.The Internet of things3.Vulnerable future4.Smarter tools = smarter children?5.Radical transparency?

Forecasting the future

Thank you!

Jan Nolin 033-4354336 Jan.Nolin@hb.se http://www.hb.se/wps/portal/forskning/forsk

are/jan-nolin