Danah Boyd makes an important point about Andrew Watts’ article on teenagers and social media:

Andrew’s depiction of his peers’ use of social media is a depiction of a segment of the population, notably the segment most like those in the tech industry. In other words, what the tech elite are seeing and sharing is what people like them would’ve been doing with social media X years ago. It resonates. But it is not a full portrait of today’s youth. And its uptake and interpretation by journalists and the tech elite whitewashes teens practices in deeply problematic ways.

Many (including myself) failed to mention that Watts’ article was only reflective of a segment of teenagers who use social networks in the US. Danah’s comments on Twitter and Ferguson are especially apt: some teenagers may not see the point of Twitter, but the network proved to be an essential information sharing tool for many citizens of Ferguson through the use of hashtags, photos, Vines, videos uploaded elsewhere, and more. Danah’s post is an important reminder and I recommend reading it.