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:
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:
