All physical settings were equally contaminated, equally problematic. “It like I go online,” Raymond admits, “because there is no where else I can go.”

(Kirkland, 2009)

Raymond resorted to SecondLife to escape from his miserable life in the real world. His story reminded me of what was happening to one of classmates in middle school. He did not do well in school and teachers always blamed him in front of the whole class for interrupting others or not doing homework. He was kind of addicted to video games then, and often absent from school. His father often beat him for play those games. His father took away his computer and did not give him money in order to prevent him from playing video games. I remember he usually looked angry in classroom and fight others on campus. I am thinking he regarded the video games as a virtual world where he could gain respect and triumph. When his father and teachers took such space away from him, he could find a means to seek comfort.

As Kirkland put it, digital space is an extra space; neither completely belongs to in-school nor out-of-school. Since adolescents are so engaged in the digital space nowadays, teachers need to help students build the “new literacies” and how to navigate in the virtual world. Adolescents rely on the digital space for different needs. Educators should also have an understanding of their different needs and identities online.