Web 2.0 Improving Child Education

While many parents might view their kids spending an evening browsing through YouTube videos, updating their Facebook profile and sending Twitter messages to their friends as goofing off, a new study indicates that such Web 2.0 and new media sites are helping kids by providing valuable skills while extending their creativity and helping them to search for their own identity.

The study conducted by Digital Youth Research finds that most young people are using the social web to extend "real world" friendships. These activities allow them to explore interests and participate in self-education while gaining real world skill, like learning a bit of web design by creating a unique MySpace profile or learning about video editing while preparing a video to be uploaded to YouTube.

You can learn more about the study at the Digital Youth Research website.