danah boyd on 'online street workers'

danah boyd, whose work leads the field when it comes to understanding young people's interaction with and experiences of Social Network Sites has just shared on her blog an exploration of the Lori Drew online bullying case in the US and how parents and society should respond.

danah writes:

The most important thing that we need are digital street workers. When I was in college, college students volunteered as street workers to help teens who were on the street find resources and help. They directed them to psychologists, doctors, and social workers. We need a program like this for the digital streets. We need college-aged young adults to troll the digital world looking out for teens who are in trouble and helping them seek help. We need online counselors who can work with minors to address their behavioral issues without forcing the minor to contend with parents or bureaucracy. We need online social workers that can connect with kids and help them understand their options.

The Youth Work and Social Networking project came to a similar conclusion, although recognising that it need not only be college-aged adults, but any age youth work professionals with the skills and experience to offer support to young people in the online environment.

It's exactly the capacity to deliver this much needed online outreach and support to young people the report, and the follow up work we are developing, is seeking to catalyse and develop.