Growing up online-Understanding impact of technology on adolescents

By Santiago Gomez
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
March, 2011

The movie growing up online was really interesting because it showed clear examples of how the lives of adolescents are getting influenced by the internet. While the documentary exposed at the same time the positive and the negative effects of technology on today’s youth, it is necessary to point out that it was a really well developed production. Thanks to the information presented in the movie, we got to see how the internet and other forms of technology may be used to improve the quality of education; nevertheless, the stories of those families whose kids have been influenced negatively by the web prove that the excessive use of the internet may potentially affect some adolescents. Although I agree that technology facilitates teaching, learning and even communicating with others in more efficient manners, I also believe that cases such as those of “Autum Etos” and the little kid that killed himself because of cyber bullying reveal the many issues that come from allowing adolescents to get absorbed by the many new forms of media. While it is necessary to accept that the growth of the internet is inevitable and that there are more positive aspects to it than negative ones, I think that our youth needs to be much more informed about the risks of using the web in an reckless manner.