ABSTRACT
A group of four seventh-grade girls, each sitting in front of a computer in different
corners of a computer lab, are feverishly writing messages to each other. When one
student posts a message, all of the others immediately receive it. Then they respond to
each other’s messages. Other than an occasional shriek across the room, these students
are relying solely on writing to engage in an animated conversation. In their messages,
they are deftly questioning, challenging, and teasing each other. They also advance some
opinions about a range of topics-movies, teachers, peers, and each other’s misspellings.
They are attentively peering at their screens to read each other’s messages in order to
