Growing up online--problems and risks

By Norvichi Northover
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
March, 2011

The movie Growing up Online was informative because it opened my eyes up to the reality of how addicted today's adolescents are to technology. Technology itself is a valuable resource that has greatly impacted society, but adolescents abuse it and it is causing damage to many students lives. Adolescents are always mainly concerned with keeping up with their social lives and making sure their friends can always get in touch with them. Many of the students in the movie shared that they can connect with a community of people who may be non - judgmental, friendly, and allow them to freely express themselves. They crave and enjoy the attention they get from their various online communities. Many adolescents actually stated that they feel incomplete, and as though something is missing from their daily routine if they do not go online to talk to their friends and visit their profile pages on facebook, myspace, or other social networks.

Due to the fact that the current generation of teenagers in high school are growing up online, they are equipped with the capabilities and intellect of how to Manage all their computer programs and optimize their use of the world wide web. They outsmart their parents when it comes to computer literacy and that is why many parents are clueless if the life their children lead online. The stories about the little boy who committed suicide For being cyber-bullied and teased constantly, and the girl who has an eating disorder and seemed advice from a fake person and people she didn't know was very sad in my opinion. These teens were crying out for help, but no one knew the internalized burden and pain they kept a secret because they were always stuck in front of the computer getting indirect and mostly negative responses. These two young people along with many other adolescents would rather be silent about their problems, or talk to strangers online rather than their own parents. Young people should feel comfortable enough to talk to their parents about serious life threatening issues such as the ones these two teens were keeping bottled up inside.

The Internet is a massive, powerful, and sometimes scary place that naive adolescents can get hurt through, if their usage of the internet is not monitored in some way.Parents and teachers should monitor students usage, but not be too controlling of their usage and just be a source of guidance to students. They need their space to express themselves freely without their parents and teachers constantly hovering over their shoulders. As the movie addressed, this transcending epidemic of Growing Up Online is not going to disappear because it is a way for students to socialize and express themselves. Parents and Teachers then have the responsibility to be mindful of adolescents usage, and inform them of safety precautions they should practice when using the Internet. Keeping a line of communication open between parents, teachers, and adolescents, will allow students to feel comfortable to discuss any issues they have pertaining to their online world.