ABSTRACT
For centuries, young people around the world have been producing media, if we include means of communication such as oral storytelling and singing, drawing and painting, writing, and other ways of representing that precede the development of electronic forms. But certainly, since media such as movies, radio, television, video and computer games, and an array of digital technologies and online networks have emerged, young people have been producing these forms as well. Why young people in different locales create, and when possible, distribute various media depends on their situations and circumstances, which are rooted in the histories, economies, politics, and socio-cultures of different places and times. Thus the reasons young people produce media are quite diverse, and relate to issues of intention, resources, competencies, and social support. These issues also have an impact on what kinds of media young people produce, and how they produce various media in different contexts. Of course the why, what, and how of young people producing media are interrelated, but the sections below will discuss them distinctly as much as possible. In each section, I will also address the roles that adults play in young people’s media productions.
