Online writing communities: Adolescents’ perspective on learning

Abstract

With a growing amount of adolescents being active daily online, there has also been an increasing interest within this field. The current study aimed to fill the literature gap in online writing communities, such as Sweek and Wattpad, and how adolescents learn and interact within these communities. For this exploratory study the perspectives, ideas and aspirations of 18 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 21 were gathered through semi-structured interviews, online survey and observations. The qualitative results show learning online is different than learning at school but that these two spaces should not be seen as opposites. At school adolescents can feel restricted through a set curriculum and a tight schedule but develop basic skills and gain important knowledge. Online writing communities on the other hand, offers adolescents a space where they can further explore and invest in their own interests. Therefore, school remains important offering adolescents basic skills while on Wattpad and Sweek they can further develop these and other skills.