This presentation addresses information seeking behavior among young learners and ,in particular, their use of social media in an educational context. The focus is on young learners’ use of social media as information sources in the intersection between information seeking and sharing of user-generated content: Which activities are associated with social media as information sources? What are the motivations and constraints for using social media as information sources? The presentation is based on a systematic review of a selected number of core LIS journals in addition to results from recent research projects on students’ and young peoples’ information behavior. The theoretical framework presented by White et al. (2012) dividing users and learners into digital residents or visitors is used to characterize "young learners". The research questions are discussed in relation to the learning potential associated with social media as information sources and the implications for information literacy. Many web tutorials have been developed with the aim of guiding students’ information seeking, research and writing behavior, hence providing a platform for building information literacy (IL) knowledge and skills. However, only minor attention is generally paid to social media and Internet searching by the developers. Further, use of social media requires a meta-literacy approach by educators to guide young learners’ use of social media. The aim of the paper is twofold; to further inform librarians and teachers in design and IL, and to serve as a steppingstone for more comprehensive and systematic research on social media in a secondary school context.

White, D.; Connaway, L. S. ; Lanclos, D.; Le Cornu & Hood, E. (2012). Digital visitors and residents. Progress report. JISC, University of Oxford, OCLC and University of North Carolina. Retrieved July 3, 2013 from: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/projects/visitorsandresidentsinterim%20report.pdf