The Information Behavior of a New Generation: Children and Teens in the 21 st Century ed. by Jamshid Beheshti and Andrew Large (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Information Behavior of a New Generation: Children and Teens in the 21st Century ed. by Jamshid Beheshti and Andrew Large Dr. Daniel Roland The Information Behavior of a New Generation: Children and Teens in the 21st Century, ed. Jamshid Beheshti and Andrew Large. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2013. 252 p. (ISBN 978-0-8108-8594-3). The title of this book may likely catch the attention of every parent, teacher, librarian, and other adult observers of teenagers perpetually engaged with cellphones, computers, and other digital tools, who [End Page 424] have wondered about the effects that this new technology is having in the lives of this latest generation. Much like the adults of an earlier generation who had similar questions about the effects of television on their children, we want to understand what it is that seems so addictive and indispensible about this technology with which our young are continually texting, listening to music, watching videos, taking and posting pictures and videos, let alone tweeting, liking, and poking. This concern is heightened, in that the normal communication gap between parents and children, adults and youth, has taken on a new dimension, as our children are able to instantly check facts on the Internet, learn skills from watching YouTube rather than asking for parental guidance, and generally know what is going on in the world more quickly, and often more reliably, than their parents. Unfortunately, the title may suggest more than the book is able to deliver in helping one to understand the information behavior of this first generation of the 21st century. In their introduction, Jamshid Beheshti and Andrew Large cite the social networking phenomenon “into which children and teens have immersed themselves with enthusiasm,” as the first rationale for the book, and one could argue that the book would be much better if it had focused exclusively on this topic. However, the editors also sought to facilitate a “broad remit [in] the examination of information behavior [that draws from] the disciplines of education, educational psychology, and computer science, as well as from library and information science.” (p. v) While an admirable goal, the result of this is several chapters with extensive background information and conceptual foundations, but which often ask more questions than provide answers. Indeed, the book seems better suited for those readers seeking to design and conduct research on the information behavior of teens and children than for those librarians, teachers, and other adults actively engaged with this generation and hoping to implement research findings into their services, lesson plans, strategic planning, and so on. To be certain, this book does offer useful chapters. K-12 and academic librarians alike will appreciate Leanne Bowler and Valerie Nesset’s chapter on information literacy. June Abbas and Denise E. Agosto compiled an exhaustive literature review on the everyday life information of young people, a chapter that comes the closest to letting the subjects speak for themselves on their information needs, how they go about seeking information, the barriers they encounter, and the nature and role of “information grounds” in their lives. Eliza Dresang provides a valuable chapter for libraries and librarians looking to attract and interact with this generation. Agosto and Abbas provide another thorough review of the literature on the topic of youth and social networking and identify four major motivations young people have for engaging in social networking sites and four major benefits they gain from doing so. Shaheen Shariff presents the dark side of social networking in addressing the issue of cyber-bullying and Dana Hanson-Baldauf introduces the reader to the social and economic problems faced by young adults with intellectual disabilities, including bullying and lack of access to information technology adequate to meet their everyday life information needs. In conclusion, The Information Behavior of a New Generation is a book perhaps best suited for doctoral students in the library, education, or communication fields in the pre-proposal stage. Each chapter includes an extensive reference list that adds to [End Page 425] the value of the text and more than a few provide questions for future research. Likewise, the book is perhaps less suited for K-12 teachers and...