Devices Juan has
Smartphone: Juan owns a cheap Samsung Android smartphone with a limited data plan. His parents got the phones on a family plan so that they could be in touch with Juan or each other at any time.
Gaming Console: Juan got a used Nintendo 2DS XL from one of his high school friends. Juan and his friends from school exchange games with each other frequently.
Tablet: Juan got an iPad in his school’s 1:1 initiative (a school initiative in which each child gets a device). He uses it exclusively for schoolwork, homework, and downloading school resources. He has to turn it in at the end of the school year, so he’s treating it very carefully. He says it doesn’t feel like “his,” and he is afraid that he’ll get in trouble if he breaks it or downloads the wrong thing accidentally.
Connectivity
Juan has limited connectivity – a small data plan and no home internet, so he mostly uses the internet at school and at the restaurant where he works.
Social media platforms and web resources consulted
Juan has Facebook and Twitter accounts that he seldom uses because of the limited data plan. However, he browses Instagram and Snapchat a few times a week when he has internet connectivity at work or school because most of his friends and school peers are active on those platforms. He rarely browses social media or posts anything while he’s at home because his parents complain that their data plan is too limited for this heavy use. Since he sees his friends most days of the week, he usually just tells them his news.
Juan uses Google products such as the search engine, mail (i.e., Gmail), Google Docs, and Google Sheets, all of which were pre-installed on his iPad, to complete school assignments. The iPad has a 3G chip that will get him internet services, but his teacher told him that all his internet activity is monitored by the school, so he uses this only for schoolwork and not for any personal searches.
Juan also uses his smartphone to browse gaming sites to find cheat codes, and strategies on how to advance past certain difficult levels in the games he played on his Nintendo 2DS XL. He spends some time also on the web searching for and reading about new releases of games he would like to own or play.
Frustration with technology
I don’t really have the time. When I’m not in school or working, I want to enjoy myself. I don’t want to sit in front of a computer reading all day!
Because of Juan’s family limited data plan and his close contact with his friends, Juan hasn’t developed a social media habit. Even away from home, his internet use is purpose-oriented. If he’s bored, he’ll play games rather than read social media.
Communication
- Juan communicates with his family and friends through text messages. His boss also texts him if they are short-staffed and he is needed at work.
- Most of his socializing is in-person with immediate family, his neighborhood friends, and high school peers.
Information needs and background
Juan wants to make a positive contribution to his family, which is why he spends more of his time at work than doing his homework. When he is home from work or school, his eyes are glued to his gaming device, and if there a soccer match, he can be found watching the game in a neighbor’s house. Juan’s iPad provides internet access for completing his school assignments. However, he clearly prefers the first source he finds rather than searching for the best sources to complete his schoolwork.
At this point, Juan’s information needs are restricted to what he needs to do for school and his personal interests (soccer and gaming). He exchanges text messages with his family and friends and occasionally exchanges texts with his supervisor at work.
Information Sources and Library Use
To get his information, Juan:
- Watches soccer matches on TV at his frirends’ houses, or on the radio while he’s at work washing dishes.
- Uses Google Search to find information for his school projects.
- Talks to friends and co-workers about major issues of the day, especially concerning DACA.
- Uses social media primarily for browsing rather than sharing.
Goals for using the library
- Juan rarely goes to the public library.
- He visits his school library when one of his classes is scheduled to use library resources. If he were to visit the school library, it would be because he needs something for school.
Juan Medina came to the United States with his parents from Nicaragua at a young age, and he currently has temporary immigration status under the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals program, for however long that status may last. Because of this uncertainty, he can’t really make plans and takes each day as it comes. Juan is enrolled in his last year of high school, and he works nights and weekends at a restaurant, washing dishes and doing clean-up. He uses most of his salary from this position to help support his family, but he spends a little on games too. Juan’s conversational English is fine, but his academic English is not as good, and his teachers often say he isn’t trying hard enough. His mom and dad both work long hours. Juan would like to go to community college but he is uncertain if his legal status might change in the future and wonders how that might affect him; he’s also concerned about costs involved for college. Right now, he wants to graduate high school and find a better paying job to support the family. When he is not in school, working, or playing games, he spends time watching soccer with other friends from the neighborhood.