Affinity Online. Mizuko Ito

      

      Affinity Online

      CONNECTED YOUTH AND DIGITAL FUTURES

      Series Editor: Julian Sefton-Green

      This series explores young people’s day-to-day lives and futures. The volumes consider changes at the intersection of civil and political reform, transformations in employment and education, and the growing presence of digital technologies in all aspects of social, cultural, and political life. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning (DML) Initiative has supported two research networks that have helped launch this series: the Youth and Participatory Politics Research Network and the Connected Learning Research Network. The DML Initiative and the DML Hub at the University of California, Irvine also support production and open access for this series.

       connectedyouth.nyupress.org

      By Any Media Necessary: The New Activism of American Youth

      Henry Jenkins, Sangita Shresthova, Liana Gamber-Thompson, Neta Kligler-Vilenchik, and Arely Zimmerman

      The Class: Living and Learning in the Digital Age

      Sonia Livingstone and Julian Sefton-Green

      The Digital Edge: How Black and Latino Youth Navigate Digital Inequality

      S. Craig Watkins, Alexander Cho, Andres Lombana-Bermudez, Vivian Shaw, Jacqueline Vickery, and Lauren Weinzimmer

      Affinity Online: How Connection and Shared Interest Fuel Learning

      Mizuko Ito, Crystle Martin, Rachel Cody Pfister, Matthew H. Rafalow, Katie Salen, and Amanda Wortman

      Affinity Online

      How Connection and Shared Interest Fuel Learning

      Mizuko Ito

      Crystle Martin

      Rachel Cody Pfister

      Matthew H. Rafalow

      Katie Salen

      Amanda Wortman

      NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS

      New York

      NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS

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       www.nyupress.org

      © 2019 by New York University

      All rights reserved

      Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) license

      References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Ito, Mizuko, editor.

      Title: Affinity online : how connection and shared interest fuel learning / edited by Mizuko Ito, Crystle Martin, Rachel Cody Pfister, Matthew H. Rafalow, Katie Salen, and Amanda Wortman.

      Description: New York : New York University Press, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2018021512 | ISBN 9781479801923 (cl : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781479852758 (pb : alk. paper)

      Subjects: LCSH: Online social networks—Case studies. | Youth—Social networks—Case studies. | Education—Effect of technological innovations on—Case studies. | Internet in education—Case studies.

      Classification: LCC HM742 .A42 2018 | DDC 302.30285—dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018021512

      New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. We strive to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books.

      Manufactured in the United States of America

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      Also available as an ebook

      Contents

       Note on the Text

       1 Introduction

       Case 1.1: The Wrestling Boards

      Crystle Martin

       Case 1.2: StarCraft II

      Yong Ming Kow, Amanda Wortman, and Timothy Young

       2 Affinity: Bonding through Shared Cultures and Practices

      Lead Authors: Rachel Cody Pfister and Crystle Martin

       Case 2.1: 1D on Wattpad

      Ksenia Korobkova

       Case 2.2: Bollywood Dance

      Sangita Shresthova

       3 Status: Developing Social and Cultural Capital

      Lead Author: Matthew H. Rafalow

       Case 3.1: Sackboy Planet

      Matthew H. Rafalow

       Case 3.2: Animemusicvideos.org

      Mizuko Ito

       4 Leveling Up: Connecting to Meaningful Opportunities

      Lead Author: Crystle Martin

       Case 4.1: Hogwarts at Ravelry

      Rachel Cody Pfister

       Case 4.2: Nerdfighters

      Neta Kligler-Vilenchik

       5 Moving Forward: Connections to Practice and Design

       Acknowledgments

       Appendix: The Affinity Networks

       Notes

       References

       About the Authors

       About the Contributors

       Index

      Note on the Text

      This book is a synthesis of two years of collaborative ethnographic fieldwork conducted by members of the Leveling Up project,