Garrison's Community of Inquiry?

Garrison addresses the social interations in a blended learning environment by saying that "Personal relationships may be an artifact of a successful community of inquiry, but they are not the primary goal. Sustained communities of inquiry are dependent upon purposeful and respectful relations that encourage free and open communication."

So here's my question...how is this different between adolescent and adult learners? Garrison asserts that academic community and engaged learning and discourse are the goal of a blended learning environment. While this might be the motivations of a PhD student, what about high school students enrolled in their required distance ed course, or the struggling student who is trying to graduate through a distance ed experience since the regular classroom attempts failed? I think that personal relationships, social interactions, and the sense of community that drive adolescents to facebook and other online communities may be an indication that the social CAN be more motivational than the intellectual for young learners. Especially when young people find themselves on daily defense and definition of their own identities, why not acknowledge that the desire and opportunity to learn might be the side show rather than the motivation on a socially interactive learning environment? I would love to hear some thoughts on this.