mercredi 22 septembre 2010

Sociology: The Web - Helping or Hurting?

The internet has become one of the largest destinations for teenagers. The teen culture has become a culture where the internet is the center of social communications and entertainment. “Fifty percent of teenagers have a social-networking-site presence.” says young sociologist C.J Pascoe. While some people believe that the internet is beneficial for teenagers, I think that it is not because of the danger it contributes to teenagers and because of the harmful influences it can have towards their self-appreciation, their desired identity and their sexual behaviours.

First of all, I do not think that the web is benefitting our youth because of the amount of danger there is towards this teen cyber culture. Privacy has alternated greatly in this generation. According to Ezine Articles, seventy-five percent of kids are willing to share information with strangers, making them more open-minded towards the people they are talking to and the things they are posting. There are also websites such as Chat Roulette which pairs people up randomly for webcam-based conversations. This site is impartial to anyone, and it is a great danger for children and teenagers considering that they can be enamored by any predator that engages in conversations with them. Children as well as teens do not realize the danger that the internet brings upon them; they do not recognize the kind of situations they can get caught up in. Predators can easily have access to children on the internet, making it an easy playground for them.

Here is an example of a confession of two young boys that explain their expiriences with internet predators:


Secondly, the internet has an outstanding influence on the way adolescents would like to appear and the way they want to be perceived. How many times have you seen ads on a web page saying “How to Lose Weight” or “Diet Tips”? They see web sites on surgery and how to look “the best you can be”, which influences them to think that they are not sufficiently pretty or good-looking. Then, there is the aspect of self identity and what defines this person. In my sociology class, we saw a video about the impact that the internet had on teens. Autumn, one of the young girls that was interviewed, was using the internet to post somewhat graphic but artistic photographs of herself to feel like she fits into this cyber culture. Often, younger girls even send out naked pictures of themselves or engage in sexually-based conversations to feel like they are performing something that is "in". They feel complimented by being asked for an inappropriate picture, which sends a message of interest towards them, and their self-worth instantly goes up. Numerous teenagers also post photos containing alcohol, drugs, or inappropriate outfits while not realizing that tracing information back to someone, even if it has been deleted, is not very painstaking.

Here is a video of a CBS report of teen sexual interactions of the internet and cellphones:


The internet has been proven to be adverse towards teenagers. There are many dangers that it harbours, as well as numerous damaging influences that it carries. Teenagers must recognize these hazardous aspects to assure their safety as well as their well-being. How can we expect our youth to be safe and rational in an environment that is treacherous and unreasonable?



4 commentaires:

  1. Hey Catherine!
    You brought up some really interesting points, thank you for them! However, I wanted to try to convince you of something. In your blog, you speak about Autumn, the girl from the documentary we saw. You argue that her pictures were graphic yet artistic. Although some of the images were a little graphic, they made her feel beautiful and appreciated. She was not hurting anybody or causing harm to society, so where is the harm in posting them? It is true that in some cases, the Internet can be dangerous if one is not properly educated on how to use it. Nevertheless, in our generation today, teens are aware that the Internet has certain dangers and for the most part, they do their best to avoid getting caught in a sticky situation. Your point about the predators was a very good one and you're right when you say the Internet is like a playground to them. However, predators today are very skilled and logical, so with or without the Internet, they will find a way to manipulate the minds of their victims. Just a little something to think about!

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  2. PS: I really enjoyed your use of the videos! They really enriched your text. Job well done!

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  3. Hi Catherine,
    Even though I share a different opinion then yours, your text really made me realize how dangerous the Internet is. Your right, the Internet can be a very bad influence for children when using the example of diet tips. With that said, I think that you should take into account the fact that we are all aware of these issues involved with the Internet. If someone posts their personal information up, nobody can be blamed but them. Your videos were very interesting and enlightening; I really enjoyed reading your text.

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