From “Paralysing Myths” to Curriculum Expansion: boundaries, spaces and territories and the place of new technologies

The use of digital tools within youth work contexts contributes to improved outcomes for youngpeople such as increased communication, information-sharing, conversation and discussion,creativity, campaigning, networking, participation and agency, as well as promoting digital literacy ata number of levels. Online “social networks are ... becoming a tool for connecting people, hostingconversation and social interaction, and supporting collaboration” (Davies and Ali, 2009 : 2) and should surely be an extension of what the youth worker already does on a face-to-face level?This paper will explore whether youth workers should seek to be included in the online spaces thatyoung people inhabit, where the boundaries should be, and whether current moral panics focusedtowards new technologies that are oriented towards “violence, stereotyped, commercially exploitive or pornographic content and about the reinforcement of individualistic, lazy, prejudiced, uncritical oraggressive activities" (Livingstone, 2002, 2005: 5), are a stimulus for avoidance or action.