Do you know, or know of, any teens who do not participate in online social networking?

My nephew is 14 and doesn’t use social networking sites. He is well rounded with lots of friends. Plays basketball, swim team, and football. He does play video games but mostly sports games.

The ones in my family are not allowed to, thank goodness. Eighteen is soon enough for it.

That’s what kids that age should be doing in my opinion. Not sitting in the house all of the time playing video games and using the computer. Kudos @missingbite

My youngest daughter’s boyfriend is 15, and does not use one. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s not allowed or is just not interested. He seems like a very sweet boy.

My new friend Madeline, she’s fourteen, doesn’t use any social network. She doesn’t even have a Facebook. As for me, I’m thirteen and usually refrain from chat rooms or other places of the sort. I have a Facebook, I just use it very sparingly.
Madeline is very friendly, but isn’t liked by many because she’s odd compared to the social standings now. I’m liked by some but none are actual friends and we barely speak (the conversations are usually very awkward). Madeline is my only friend in about 4 years.

A fifteen year old friend of my son doesn’t use any social network. He is very bright, very active in school, sports, music and Scouts. He told me that he is “holding out” and “not going to succumb to the pressure of Facecrook”.

I don’t!
And of all the teenagers I know, I’m the only one who does not participate in Facebook, Instagram, Formspring, etc.

The last known teen not online social networking turned 20 four months ago.

@augustlan pretty much answered for me. My boyfriend doesn’t have a facebook or anything. He’s allowed to, he just doesn’t want to get sucked into the computer. He’s really funny and sweet. He’s also pretty social, although he sucks at texting people.

Cool!! These answers are not what I expected! :)

@BBawlight Yes, that does seem to illustrate the attitude some of my friends had in high school, in that someone who doesn’t participate in social networking must be a little on the odd side or have something to hide. I remember a friend of mine referring to this girl as “creepy” because she didn’t have a Facebook, and I was like “really? really?!!”

To answer the question, yes, my cousin doesn’t participate in social networking and he’s 15. His brother and sister (also around the same age) do, however. He’s just not interested, and no, he is in no way socially awkward or anything like that.

I find this whole thing interesting, because it’s been my experience that most people who participate in forums or sites like Fluther tend to be introverted and less social in real life. Yet people who participate in social networking can be anywhere on the introverted/extroverted spectrum, and many of them are quite social and extroverted. Just an observation…

When I was a teenager (many long years ago), I was consistently irritated by generalities and stereotypes that characterized all young people as being a certain way: their likes, their style of dress, their speech and thoughts and behavior. Many of my friends and I were simply not like that. And the existence of reasonably intelligent teens who had divergent opinions, didn’t necessarily follow every fad, and were able to express themselves in standard English was seldom acknowledged.

If anything, I was even more irritated when the media or the ruling generation happened to discover an exception and held the kid up as some sort of unique marvel. There were actually lots of us. We just didn’t make huge amounts of noise or demand attention.

Recalling that experience, I maintain considerable skepticism toward any assertion that “all” teens do this or that. It’s nice to have that doubt reinforced. For some, it must take a lot of strength to buck this trend, but others will just naturally make their own choices and not be swept up in every damned “universal” phenomenon of youth.

Many thanks for these examples. Keep them coming.

I know a family with four kids 8 to 18, and their screen time is very limited. The boys don’t care much, the teenage girl uses every possible moment at grandma’s or her cousins’ to use Facebook.

Their parents deliberately restrict virtual activity so the kids go play outside and interact with people.

It works well for them and the kids are all good kids.

Just curious… all of you parent or parent-like folks who are so proud of your kids non-social involvement, do they have smart phones, or even phones that text?

Isn’t Fluther social networking?

My homeboy, Benji, has no interest in using any type of social networking sites. :)
He’s too cool for it, he says.

@6rant6 you said “Isn’t Fluther social networking?” Yes. And how does that apply to this question regarding “all teenagers?”

I do not actually know any teens who do not engage in social networking. My children are 15 and 12. My daughter stays in touch with her friends on Facebook. They all separated from the middle school they attended and are scattered all over the place. She is learning lots of interesting info about their high schools.

Tonight, she was telling us that there is a lot more social pressure at private schools to use drugs and have sex than there is at public schools. Her friends are apparantly facing a lot of pressure. But she does not feel that pressure at the public high school she goes to. She is staunchly anti-drug (despite my efforts to explain that it isn’t necessarily bad; just bad when not used with respect) and anti-alcohol and anti-sex. Sigh. So much for grand children…... just kidding. It’s kind of like having your cake and eating it, too. I can be totally in favor of sexual experiences knowing that she will actually be more likely to remain a virgin until she is 30 or something. Reverse psychology works amazingly well, and they even know all about the theory, and it still works.

My son used google+. One more year before Facebook. He’s not actually pushing all that hard. He does seem to be pushing his grandparents and a few other technophobes into the world of social networking. He posted pictures each day on vacation, and people were very glad to see them, which they could only do if they were on his list and on Google+.

I think that one can get a bit more sophisticated about one’s understanding of teen behavior if you look more deeply than who does or doesn’t use Facebook. As others have pointed out, fluther is social networking, too.

What is more interesting is finding out how kids are using the technology. What kind of content do they produce? Who do they share it with? My son, who doesn’t like to write, has been producing pictures. He photoshops them, as well, and has given me a greater appreciation for the artistry in edited photos. I realize that the reason we edit photos is because we want a kind of idealized truth to show others, and there is nothing wrong with this. We create idealized truths all the time using words or drawings or paintings.

We are used to photos being a kind of accurate record of reality, but now it can be like everything else: an idealized record. Nothing wrong with that. The only problem comes if people think that photos are supposed to be pure truth. They aren’t. Never will be again.

Anyway, my son would put up these photos and then he’d write captions. Those captions told the story, and in doing that, my son was starting to voluntarily do something he claims to hate: write.

@Dutchess_III , @Aesthetic_Mess said he didn’t engage in social networking. That’s part of why I mentioned Fluther.

Also, people are being so judgmental of Social Networking even as they partake. It’s possible to have balanced lives. At least that’s what I’ve read. On line.

No, don’t know what that suggests or even in reference to whom, but it’s done now….

@wundayatta, I’m not in high school now, so take this for what it’s worth, but when I was in high school (public) my friends and I were NEVER approached to use. But I know people around us who were. I think in our case it was because we were the kids whom were active in school, got good grades, and were the “teacher’s pets.”. I know that there were people whom sold drugs and people on them, but we were never approached.