When Teens Attack!Tips for dealing with 12 year olds and

other difficult customers on chat reference

TELL ME NOW!

Assyrian culture I need it for school NOW NOW!

Are you stupid? *$&##!!

Patron ended chat session.

Purely Fabricated ExampleYOU: Hi there!TEEN: ENGLAND FARMINGYOU: Okay, farming in England – do you want info about

farming now, farming in the past…TEEN: OLDYOU: Okay, so old farmingTEEN: I NEED ARTICLESTEEN: I NEED IT NOWYOU: Got it, let me grab you some TEEN: YOU ARE SLOWTEEN: WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID?YOU: Here’s a good link thatTEEN: Patron ended chat session.YOU: Awesome.

Why are they SO DIFFICULT on chat?

1. Teens have slower access to the frontal cortex, the “CEO” of our brains – decision making skills and impulse control are affected

2. Testing their boundaries & sphere of influence

3. They like to hunt in groups

4. This medium isn’t new to them: they have higher expectations

5. It’s a novelty to talk to a non-peer stranger online (for many)

Why should we care?

It’s Whitney Houston time: Teens Are Our Future (lawmakers, taxpayers, potential advocates) – possibly our one chance to make an impression

Hits some of the Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets:Community Values Youth, Neighborhood Boundaries, Adult Role Models, High Expectations, Achievement Motivation, Responsibility, and Interpersonal Competence

They went through a lot to get to the screen in front of you – make it worth their while.

STRATEGIES for You

General Strategies

• Be Positive & Engaged

• Be in Charge• Acknowledge

Impatience• The Art of

Refocusing

Specific Situations

• Homework Hellions• Crowd Control• The Chatterers• Sex!?• Rude Comments• No, I Mean Really

Rude Comments

Be Positive & Engaged

Act like you would on a really good day at the reference desk – try to bring that interaction to the chat medium.

• Take a deep breath, find some energy• “Oh! That’s a good question!”• Make small talk, keep up the conversation – they can’t see

your smile or your nodding• “Do you like this class?”• Constant updates, tell what you’re doing

Be In Charge

Play to the fact that you’re an authority figure, if you want to be…

• Give clear, easy to follow instructions• Tell them WHY or HOW• Don’t be afraid of repeating yourself• Set expectations:

“I’m going to answer your questions one at a time and in order, okay? Let’s start with _____.”

Establish a Cycle of Acknowledgement & Moving Forward

• “Thanks for being cool about waiting – this can take awhile. I really appreciate it.”

• “I’m going to get to all of your questions but I’m working as quickly as I can. How about you read that first link I sent you while I work?”

If they can’t sit still, offer to get back to them – tell them it’s the LUXURY Treatment

Acknowledge Impatience

I hate this class. The teacher sucks. “I really want to help you get this paper started. Let’s get back to _________.”

Are you a girl? “It doesn’t matter whether I’m a boy or a girl. Think of me as an awesome information robot.”

Where do you live? “Eh, I don’t tell that to strangers. Back to your question!”

Why can’t you talk with me? “I WISH it were my job to sit and chat all day but I have to get this question finished for you so I can help other people.”

The Art of Refocusing

Is there even a question?Maybe not. Sometimes they are just bored. This is okay. Teens are bored 99% of the time.

“This service is for real questions only.”

We want you to come back.

Homework Hellions• Ask what they’ve done already

• Treat them like a partner in your search for an answer – encourage them to work it out with you as you go

• If the question makes no sense, ask if they know what it means; likewise, if it’s an opinion/essay type question, ask what they think – get them percolating!

• If it still doesn’t make sense, ask what’s “around” the question – what class? What topic are they studying? Do they remember anything else about the assignment?

• Push Homework Help if you have it.

Crowd Control

Let’s say you have what seems like 20 kids all logging in at once. Think quickly of a way to create a flow you can work with (especially if you’re solo). Here are some example questions/solutions you can use:

“Are you in a class?” “Can you guys get into small groups and ask questions together?”

“How much time do you guys have left in your class?” “Could you wait 5 minutes before asking another question?”

“You can share my answers if some of you have the same question.”“What’s your email address? I can give you better answers if you can wait an hour or two – I can email you the answers and information later today.”

If they seem like they really need to talk to someone, suggest Teen Link (1-866-TEENLINK)

Find the question in all the chat: if they are complaining about their boyfriend, send them advice books, links, etc.

Consider their boredom a problem to solve: give them an interesting link, just like you’d give them a good book

The Chatterers

Know that your teen librarians may be promoting chat as a service for teens to ask about sex.

You may be the only person they can ask right now.

Take these questions seriously. It’s possible they are trying to get a reaction, but assume they aren’t.

A great resource:IPL’s “Frequently Asked Embarrassing Questions” (http://www.ipl.org/div/faeq/) is a list of helpful advice/FAQ websites for kids & teens

Sex?!

We’re setting expectations and defining boundaries – let kids know they’ve crossed the line.

1. Be honest: “That offended me.” “I don’t appreciate that.” “That’s really disrespectful.” “I’m trying to help you.”

2. “That’s classy. Now let’s get to the question.”3. Use m-w. com for dirty word bombing

Rude Comments

If your library has a Rules of Conduct, enforce them – treat chat like your physical space.

Abusive repeat offender? Pick up their chat(s) and let them hang until they get tired of it – don’t leave it for colleagues to deal with if you know what’s in store.

No, I mean Really Rude Comments

If you remember just one thing:

Teens aren’t done growing. Their brains are different,and we can’t expect them to display the same impulsecontrol and judgment as adults.

Accept it and even embrace it if you can – chattingwith teens can break up the monotony of a day andcan be FUN if you relax and go with it.

Be Zen. Be open.

LINKS for chatters who could possibly die of boredom in the next 2 minutes

Bacolicious!Especially fun to send w/ library’s URL: http://bacolicio.us/http://www.spl.org

Bored.comhttp://www.bored.com

Color Traceshttp://lab.andre-michelle.com/color-traces (this website has tons of interesting visualization – Flash required)

SNOPES Urban Legendshttp://snopes.com/

Googlismhttp://www.googlism.com/

Fun Trivia: The Trivia & Quiz Communityhttp://www.funtrivia.com/

More readingFrontline: Inside the Teenage Brain

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/

The Teen Brain: It's Just Not Grown Up Yethttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124119468

Teens and Chat Reference: A Match Made in Heaven or…..? http://ri.webjunction.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=440784&name=DLFE-11828.pdf

40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents (Search Institute)http://www.search-institute.org/content/40-developmental-assets-adolescents-ages-12-18

TeensRule!