After watching the Social Networking program "Growing up Online" I see even more problems then I would have imagined. There have been cases of creating a different identity for yourself, sexual solicitation, and sharing this with the world that adolescents should not share.
One student, Sarah admitted to having friendships online that she does not have in person. She said she would talk to guys on line, send them pictures of her almost naked and not think about hanging out with them in person. I remembered a quote "Why tell your parents when you have the whole world to talk to." This cuts off personal relations with other people. She also admitted to learning ways to be anorexic and ways to make bulimia less painful. She found a website where anorexic people support other people with this problem. People should not be exposed to this so easily. Her parents know nothing about her disorder, but there are a number of girls online supporting her disorder, just by typing an address on her computer.
Other students were saying they would fight on myspace for no apparent reason at all. They just felt like writing nasty comments to each other, and it came down to a physical fight in school. Another student video taped the whole fight, uploaded it to YouTube, and now the girls are realizing the consequences. Colleges might see this, it will hold them back from things like job opportunities. Although it was a bad decision on their part to fight, it will be with them forever because of this video now all over the Internet.
One story that really bothered me was about a girl named Jessica Hunter who created "Autmn Edows" which is Jessica dressed up in lingerie just to get attention from other people. This is NOT the way you should be getting attention. It still bothers her now that her mother made her delete all of the files, she basically created her own monster.
The most disturbing story was about a boy named Ryan. He asked his father to learn how to fight, because he was getting bullied so much. His parents thought it was over, but it was so much he ended up killing himself. His father found out after doing research on his sons online account, it was due to cyber bullying. The words hurt Ryan to the point that he committed suicide. Ryan's father then found a website about the best way to kill yourself. His mother said he would have never been the kid to do this, but it got too much for him. Social networking led to this child's death.
Social Networking is supporting things that should not happen. Girls are supporting each other with health related issues, supporting someone publishing photos of her in lingerie just to make her feel liked, supporting fights in classrooms. There are graphic photos and videos of children doing things like fighting, and under age drinking published. The Internet creates a huge generation gap, these kids want to hide things from their parents that they are posting and sharing online. Kids get cyber bullied and can find ways of committing suicide. There should be some limit on social networking, and there isn't. How will instances like these stop?
On the other hand, there can be positives uses to social networking. President Obama used it to help him get elected. The Internet helped Obama get his message across in a more efficient way. He has expanded the voter rolls in different states. Although "Second Life" was originally invented as a game, it was also used in a positive way. It helped business students work with abused children to rediscover their social skills. Since these children are used to hiding away from their parents, it helps them break down the wall in their social life and lets them interact with other people they don't even know. Another study is on adults with cerebral palsy. They have a chance to interact with others with out being judged. "Second Life" removes the feeling of these people having disabilities and social problems. Being a little sister of someone with Autism, I really like to hear about things like this and the cyber island "Brigadoon." I am happy these people get a chance to feel normal, even if only for a little while.
It is clear that social networking has many pros and cons. However this begs the question, Do the pros outweigh the cons? Sure social networking lets us obtain information faster than ever before and we can connect with people from anywhere in the world whether it be with MYSPACE, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, etc. However, what happens when the information is negative. Someone may create a FACEBOOK group that its target is bullying a fellow student. The student either doesn't tell anyone and kills himself as Ryan did, or can try to speak to a responsible adult to try to resolve the problem. The pros however, allow people to keep up with the news around the world. For example, President Obama used this technology to get his message across. His had a FACEBOOK group created so he could help win more votes in the election and it worked. He also learned about other issues and so on and so forth. People can also learn things such as recipes, movie info, and such a multitude of things. Still, I believe the pros do not outweigh the cons but rather they balance each other almost evenly.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that social network has advantages and disadvantages . There are people who are not aware about this, because they think it is the best tool in the world. That is why they become addicted to MY Space, Facebook, Twitter and it is not right. In another way it is good because we can talk with our loved beings and with friends. I think you right about the positive and negative uses of social network, but I believe that people have to control themselves from becoming addicted to these sites.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to say that while I agree on most of your blog, I disagree with the whole Jessica Hunters/Autumn Edows view. I actually found that to end positively because this sad girl was able to create a true identity for herself. She realized she wasn't happy being this person that she was, and it took a lot of courage to bring this character in from the virtual world onto the real world. Although I would never agree with young 14 year old girls posting half naked pictures of themselves, once she was older, Jessica discovered her true identity and ended up being very happy. Now she actually is Autumn Edows. Overall though, I enjoyed reading your blog.
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