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ABSTRACT This poster will examine teen Nerdfighters across a variety of social media platforms. Using both survey and interview data, this poster will draw maps of engagement to reflect on teen Nerdfighters' selection practices and flows between social media platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pace of technological change is rapid and the impact of this acceleration on the information behavior of youth from diverse backgrounds is multifaceted. Most young people have online access in some form, but the uses and quality of access vary tremendously (Madden, Lenhart, Duggan, Cortesi & Gasser, 2013). With the growth and variation of information behaviors among youth in social media and the mobile Web, keeping pace with research methods used to capture these behaviors and phenomena continues to be a discussion among scholars. Adding to the complications of research in this area, youth are increasingly using information and communications technologies (ICT) across platforms for a variety of information behaviors, including academic and social reasons (Agosto & Abbas, 2010). It is often not enough to solely examine a young person's Twitter feed - we need to see how that conversation carries from Twitter, to direct messages, to texting, to a Facebook post and so on. This variation suggests a need for greater nuance in research (Madden, Lenhart, Duggan, Cortesi & Gasser, 2013; Gasser, Cortesi, Malik & Lee, 2012). This panel will bring together several researchers experienced in studying youth information practices to discuss their methodologies and strategies in dealing with these intricate issues. This panel will be conducted in a roundtable style - encouraging deep conversation between the researchers and the audience. This will be followed by a small group discussions with the audience and conclude by sharing back best practices uncovered through the group discussions. Through attending this panel, attendees will engage with current developments in diverse youth, ICT and research methodologies, and identify priorities and approaches for future work in these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As online communities become more important in young people's lives, it is important to consider who the active users are in these digital environments. Previous research has looked at the way leaders emerge in adult communities, but scholarship on young people's participation patterns has been less robust. This paper looks at the phenomenon of "super-users," or the leaders and vocal participants, in a specific online community populated by eleven and twelve year olds (tweens) and run out of an after-school program at two urban middle-school libraries. We ask why these particular young people participate more than their peers and identify these users' characteristics. We also look at the relationships between these characteristics and the young people's use of the site. Answers to these questions help us understand why some tweens' participate more than others and could help facilitate how to better engage all users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]