Hanging Out,
Messing Around,
and Geeking Out
Mizuko Ito
Sonja Baumer
Matteo Bittanti
danah boyd
Kids Living
and Learning
Rachel Cody
Becky Herr-Stephenson
Heather A. Horst
Patricia G. Lange
Dilan Mahendran
Katynka Z. Martínez
C. J. Pascoe
with New Media
Dan Perkel
Laura Robinson
Christo Sims
Lisa Tripp
with contributions by Judd Antin, Megan Finn,
Arthur Law, Annie Manion, Sarai Mitnick,
David Schlossberg, and Sarita Yardi
Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital
Media and Learning
Engineering Play: A Cultural History of Children’s Software by Mizuko Ito
Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New
Media by Mizuko Ito, Sonja Baumer, Matteo Bittanti, danah boyd, Rachel Cody,
Becky Herr-Stephenson, Heather A. Horst, Patricia G. Lange, Dilan Mahendran,
Katynka Z. Martínez, C. J. Pascoe, Dan Perkel, Laura Robinson, Christo Sims, Lisa
Tripp, with contributions by Judd Antin, Megan Finn, Arthur Law, Annie Manion,
Sarai Mitnick, David Schlossberg, and Sarita Yardi
Inaugural Series Volumes
These edited volumes were created through an interactive community review
process and published online and in print in December 2007. They are the pre-
cursors to the peer-reviewed monographs in the series.
Civic Life Online: Learning How Digital Media Can Engage Youth, edited by W. Lance
Bennett
Digital Media, Youth, and Credibility, edited by Miriam J. Metzger and Andrew
J. Flanagin
Digital Youth, Innovation, and the Unexpected, edited by Tara McPherson
The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning, edited by Katie Salen
Learning Race and Ethnicity: Youth and Digital Media, edited by Anna Everett
Youth, Identity, and Digital Media, edited by David Buckingham
HANGING OUT, MESSING AROUND, AND GEEKING OUT
Kids Living and Learning with New Media
Mizuko Ito
Sonja Baumer
Matteo Bittanti
danah boyd
Rachel Cody
Becky Herr-Stephenson
Heather A. Horst
Patricia G. Lange
Dilan Mahendran
Katynka Z. Martínez
C. J. Pascoe
Dan Perkel
Laura Robinson
Christo Sims
Lisa Tripp
with contributions by
Judd Antin, Megan Finn, Arthur Law, Annie Manion,
Sarai Mitnick, David Schlossberg, and Sarita Yardi
The MIT Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2010 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any
electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information
storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information about special quantity discounts, please e-mail special_sales@
mitpress.mit.edu.
This book was set in Stone Sans and Stone Serif by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd.,
Hong Kong.
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ito, Mizuko.
Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out : kids living and learning
with new media / Mizuko Ito.
p. cm. — The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series in Digital
Media and Learning
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-262-01336-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Mass media and youth—United States. 2. Digital media—Social aspects–
United States. 3. Technology and youth—United States. 4. Learning—Social aspects.
I. Title.
HQ799.2.M352I87 2010
302.23'108350973—dc22
2009009932
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1