My So-Called Digital Life: 2,000 Teenagers, 300 Cameras, and 30 Days to Document Their World

The result of a unique project organized by a school administrator, this photo essay captures the daily lives of a large group of California high school students. Two thousand students from across the state were given digital cameras and a time limit of one month to document, in pictures and words, their day-to-day experiences. As a part of the event, some students were bussed to schools in different parts of the state, including inner cities or rural or suburban areas. All of the students were able to communicate with each other over the Internet, sharing text, audio, photos, and video. Professional photographers, teachers, historians, and community leaders accompanied and advised the students, but the images, thoughts, fears, and hopes are theirs alone. This complex project tracks the students as they take on issues of identity, education, alienation, safety, technology, family, work, and friendship.