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Learning, Design, and Technology pp 1–19Cite as

Digital Technologies and Adults: Social Networking, Holding Environments, and Intellectual Development

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Abstract

This chapter is concerned with understanding and describing how digital technology tools for communication – specifically, online social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) – may support and contribute to adults’ cognitive development (i.e., verbal skills, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities). We draw upon a theory of adult intellectual development – constructive developmentalism (Kegan, R. In over our heads: The mental demands of modern life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994) – that describes how adults make sense of increasingly complex environments and how their interactions with digital environments may support or enhance meaning-making in everyday life. The concept of “holding environments” is used to explain the digital space created both by what the social networking site affords and the users’ decisions about how to design and use their social network (i.e., for information, entertainment, discussions). The qualities of the holding environment play a significant role in users’ participation in online networking sites and what they may gain from such participation, in terms of cognitive skills. Implications for education around learners’ uses of digital tools are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Education and Human Services, West Virginia University, PO BOX 6122, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6122, USA

    Smith M Cecil

  2. Department of Curriculum & Instruction/Literacy Studies, College of Education and Human Services, West Virginia University, 602 Allen Hall, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    Lindstrom Denise L

Authors
  1. Smith M Cecil
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  2. Lindstrom Denise L
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Correspondence to Smith M Cecil .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Info, Ste G150, Univ of North Texas, Denton, Texas, USA

    Michael J Spector

  2. School of Education, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

    Barbara B Lockee

  3. School of Education, Baker University, Overland Park, Kansas, USA

    Marcus D. Childress

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M Cecil, S., Denise L, L. (2017). Digital Technologies and Adults: Social Networking, Holding Environments, and Intellectual Development. In: Spector, M., Lockee, B., Childress, M. (eds) Learning, Design, and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17727-4_88-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17727-4_88-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-17727-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-17727-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

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