With the permeation of media and technology into nearly every aspect of young people’s lives, Spiegel & Grau recently asked three authors—Adam Mansbach, a novelist and educator; Lee Siegel, a writer and cultural critic; and Matt Taibbi, a journalist and political writer—to grapple with some of the timeless questions, such as what are some of the emerging challenges—and promise—of new technologies.

How would you define censorship?

Taibbi: In my mind there are two forms of censorship—direct and indirect. Direct censorship would be a state organ actually stepping in and forbidding some kind of public speech on either political or ideological grounds (as opposed to forbidding someone to scream “Fire!” in a crowded theater, for instance). (more…)