Growing up online: How much control do they need

By Keith Miller
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
March, 2011

I thought that the movie growing up online was very interesting and very true in regards to adolescents in today’s society. I thought it was really interesting to get a glimpse of the lives of different teenagers, and how they all use the Internet. I thought it was interesting that although they all used the Internet, they all for the most part used it in a negative way. Both of the girls that they showed in the movie both used the Internet in a negative way, but both thought that what they were doing was positive. Even though they lived at home with their family, both of these girls managed to have secret lives that were all online. This is a perfect example of how the parents were not paying enough attention to what their kids were doing online. Even after the girls father found out about the pictures her daughter was posting on the net, she went right back to what she was doing and it seemed as though her parents had no problem with it.

The other mother that appeared throughout the film however was way to controlling with her children. I understand that she wants to be a good parent, and she wants to protect her children from harm, but she is a prime example of being way to overbearing. I don’t think it is necessary for your parents to know everything that goes on in your life. I understand that parents should know about the important things, but there is no reason why this mother should know what her children are talking about to their friends. It is obvious that she raised good children, who probably make good decisions because of the way that they were raised. What this mother does not realize is that she is pushing her kids away, and is eventually going to cause them to become very angry with her. I think that if she went about things differently, and showed her kids that she trusts them, they might be more reluctant to share what is going on in their lives.