Theory and practice

[Suvi Kuikka]

There is a huge need of building up theory about e-youth work or how a youth worker uses web at work with young. I have started to construct ideas based to David Buckinham's ideas about media and youth. http://cscym.zerolab.info/people/64-staff-member/74-professor-david...
First of all, I rather like to talk about web based youth work instead of e-youth work. Why is that? There are at least three levels which I can recognize for the time being:
Level 1: youth work on line - youth workers and young people work at the very same time on line - this level special skills are needed and you have to train yourself to react quickly and use different type of technologies and you even need knowledge to use "web" language.

Level 2. Web is used as a tool. On this level you need web absolutely to carrie out at work. This might be a part of youth information work or media skills training at your work. Also special skills are needed - more you can better you can.
Level 3. Web is used to support your organized activities for young people. On this level you benefit that there is possibility to connect internet and social media to your work but that is not a necesserity. This level is growing fastests and all kind of training, support and innovations are needed for everyday work.

[Tim Davies]

Hey Suvi

Levels of engagement
We used a taxonomy in the 'Youth Work and Social Networking' research project to try and pull out three levels of youth work engagement with social networks, and then sub-activities that fell under those - and I think a lot of it generalises to 'Digital Youth Work' as well as just 'Youth Work & Social Networking'

What to call it?
I've been inclined to use the terminology of 'Digital Youth Work' recently, because it capture the broad need for youth work to respond to a whole host of digital and internet connected environments which impact upon young people's lives and which provide spaces of need, or spaces of opportunity, for youth work activity.

In the diagram above, only (6) and (7) are truly 'web based' (as in taking pace predominantly online), for all the others, the web is an element, a tool, or one space amongst others for youth work to take place.

[Suvi Kuikka]

Thanks Tim - this taxonomy I have already seen once and I agree about many elements. This seems to be something to use and develop and also analyze with in back in each cultural methods and habits to do youth work. We will get back to this. About your term 'Digital Youth Work' I have to say that it covers the environment but then again back to basics: do we do 'digital youth work' or youth work in general and use/benefit from the Internet?
Round we go... but looking forward to return to this issue also,
Suvi

[Tim Davies]

Good point on terminology of digital youth work - I guess the other phrase I've been using is 'Youth work in a digital age' - and quite interested in what happens when we talk of 'Youth work in the Network Society' to draw on Castells ideas - trying to capture that recent developments are game-changing for youth work as well as providing new tools and platforms.