I really like this idea, and I wish that schools were more fundamentally built around this concept. Especially for kids whose parents don't encourage their interests at all, school should be their place to go to engage with what they love and learn more; not just about what they love, but also about how they can apply those ideas to other fields in life.

This is probably one of the most essential aspects of his entire learning and growth. Having other people (especially if they're older and more experienced) encourage you and engage with you as you work is one of the best ways to learn more quickly and substantially.

Another great opportunity to offer a kid. He's already seeing practical applications for his skills and his passion. This is what more schools should do; encourage youth to use their passions in ways that actually relate to work and practical situations.

There's a lot of wisdom here. If schools were better at enabling youth to do things that actually interested them then not only would they be more engaged at school, but it would encourage them not to seek out unhealthy activities. Obviously there is a balance here, realistically not everything in school can be something you love doing, but the more opportunities that are offered the better.

Even just within this small two year (or maybe even less) window into Luis' life, we can see how he's continually growing and learning through the use of this technology. He's not only learning more about the equipment, but also about how to structure and convey good stories.

Getting clubhouse coordinators that are experts on each of these different kinds of technology is obviously a very tall order; and I feel like many organizations would see this is a reason not to implement clubs like this in schools. However, this shouldn't stop them. As Luis' experience shows, even if the coordinators don't have 100% knowledge of how to use and teach these things, youth can still get a lot out of it just by experimenting and doing their own research. What matters most is youth are being exposed to and have access to this technology.

It's interesting that people (or at least youth) gravitate towards using technology for artistic means and creating things. I think it's because of this creative freedom technology offers that tech access feels so empowering to people.

Why is that? Maybe that they want to see theories and speculation by their fellow fans on things the official producers won't comment on? I can't think of any other reasons myself. I personally am the sort of person who sticks to the official producers for information because I want to see what's actually official.

That's an interesting, but very accurate way of putting it. Having not only the access to this technology and these programs, but also the freedom to do what you want with them, must very empowering; especially if these young adults have no where else to access these things.

While this idea of the techne-mentor is interesting, I wonder if it really needs to have its own dedicated term. In most of these examples it seems like the techne-mentor is just someone giving quick advice or helping a friend; I'm not sure that calls for a special term to label it. In other words, being a techne-mentor doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me.

I know there are concerns/theories that internet companies are restricting and controlling how people interact through their technology, but I personally don't feel that they have any major influence. This excerpt here is a perfect example of Net-users' tendency to bypass the system or intended uses in order to get what they want. I've witnessed this occurring a lot in my own experience, and in general I feel like it's just in human nature to seek out ways to do this.

While the multiple forms of media that are available drastically increased usage of media content, it seems like smartphones in particular were the main culprit. The jump from computers, which could only be used at home in one given location, to smartphones, which can be used essentially anywhere, was largely responsible for this increase.

I personally find this to be true with myself. Especially in high school, I would frequently stay very late after school was released for the day to spend time with peers, yet as soon as I went home I typically didn't interact with them for the remainder of the day. Despite texting, calling, online games, etc. being readily available options, I generally either want to interact in person or not interact at all. That being said, there are still some scenarios where I would 'hang out' with them virtually, usually through phone calls or extended periods of texting.

I do appreciate this acknowledgment of and explanation for a possible distortion in the results of this survey. It helps us to understand things with the greatest possible accuracy.

So what is media engagement crowding out? Is it crowding out anything? I can see how simultaneous use of different forms of media would keep from crowding things out, and I understand that youth will still prioritize time with family, hobbies, etc. in their lives; but surely some activity is being crowded out by this steady increase in media use. Perhaps its time spent studying and working on homework, since this media engagement can, in a way, start to replace that.