In the program "Growing Up Online" it discusses many things that have been happening in a "second world". Some of these things are being a different person or your "real self", cyberbullying , child predators. A lot of adolescents today are involved with some social networking site and the topics discussed in the program happen primarily on these websites. When being on a social networking site it allows millions of people to see into ones world and any of the information placed on the site for the world to see. For teenagers I don't feel that many of them keep in mind using the privacy features. Although the program had told of the studies being done that showed many of the students denied access of a predator trying to message them, they can still attract the wrong people if they do know of them within the area. This social networking allows for any one to have a second world online to show of the real self. Students in the program made it clear that when they go home from school its like another hang out on the computer whether its looking at videos on youtube.com or hanging out on facebook.com. Obama's campaign really used this to his advantage when trying to become president. He used social networking to his advantage by making a website where his opinions, ideas, and where he stood in the polls always available. The staff that helped him even got him to become part of facebook.com so they could add his website to their favorites and make it known to other users of their support and links to the website. This also said in the article made it easier for people to donate with their credit/debit accounts helping him out tremendously.
At the click of a button anything is accessible and there are other people to support your thoughts even though the thoughts may not be good for you. As shown by Sara in "Growing Up Online" she looks up anorexia and how other people achieve their goals in not eating and how she sometimes got jealous or applauded their ways when they were able to not eat as much in a day. It is a scary thought to know at anytime of day this accessible and in the case of John Halligan's son helped him achieve suicide. Being one of the teens in the age of the internet I never even knew some of these sites existed and it is so easy to type what a person wants in google and guarantee that something in its relation will pop up.
Online make people to show and create their "real" or "fake" personalities. Because we can not check or confirm, we can do whatever we want and we can show anything. Sometimes it is helpful and only way to show themselves but sometimes it leads people to danger.(ex. Cyberbullying and sexual predator) As the article, "second Life" discussed, we should use online in healthy way so social networking things could develop more and more.
ReplyDeleteIt is worrying what information one can come across online. There are countless times that information which is far too unsuitable for a child may become avaliable online. Not only are they subjected to sexual preditors but also health issues for example the anorexia example.
ReplyDeleteIn this situation I think it is important to educate children so that they are able to make a more informed decision about what is avaliable on the internet. Although many may be curious, by knowing that there are also dangers out there, perhaps they will be a little more mature and avoid certain things.
I agree that there are alot of dangers with social networking, but those dangers existed even before the internet. The rule to not speak to strangers has been something we all have heard since children. We are warned constantly and that same rule should apply to the interent. It is up to the parent to enforce it just like they did when we were children without any access to the internet. I even believe when it comes to siucide and disorders if someone has their mind set to it they will do it. I think the internet has not made it worse because someone who is looking up information about disorders or suicide will also come across websites that give out their help. Something that people are usually scared to ask for in the real world. Also I believe the internet has helped catch sexual predators easier than in the past. The video says in most cases the teens are the ones agreeing to meet up with them. They should be taught not to trust them just like we were taught to not trust strangers who talk to you on the street.
ReplyDeleteI agree that going online is like living in a second world. Much time was taken out to show how by a few clicks of a mouse that you can become a completely different person, as we saw in the case of "Autumn Edows" a girl who was not payed much attention to in school but became the person she enivisioned online and became a popular person for that. It was a way for her to express herself without sacrificing some of the things she had in her life.
ReplyDeleteYoung children are VULNERABLE and sometimes predators know exactly what to say to them in order to catch their attention or have ways to convince children to meet them outside the internet. Since many parents are working full time they cannot control what their child does on the internet and as seen in the PBS presentation many times teens find ways to out smart their parents with this new technology. Many teens seem to go through a period where they feel that they know everything and want to experiment with the internet because they can fake their identities and appear older. Yes dangers exist in the real world but on the internet children and teens are more likely to come across strangers and predators that are very experienced in what they do and know exactly what to say in order to convince the teens that what they are doing in right and not dangerous at all. Many predators can also conceal his/her identity and seem very innocent and wanting to just be friends and talk, after you get confident in their friendship they want to meet which is very dangerous.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way as you did when watching the frontline program "Growing Up Online" about not knowing that some sites existed such as the anorexia one. I think it is kind of disturbing how accesible some of these sites can be especially to children. It makes you wonder what if some of these sites were never created, would childrens lives or people in general be different? WOuld John Halligan's son still be alive?
ReplyDeleteWith teenagers being as cutting edge and knowledgable as they are with the internet, I think its best that the Parents get an expediated and advanced education on the internet, as I feel they know too well on how to keep parents out of knowing what they do out of the fact that they simply don't know what there is to know. Education really is the key, as the internet is too massive an entity to be ignorant about, especially when it is shaping our future generations so much.
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