Reading Response 4

In the video Growing Up Online that was documented by FRONTLINE and directed by Rachel Dretzin and John Maggio, it shows how kids and teenagers spend almost all of their time on the internet, and that they basically live separate lives from their real ones. FRONTLINE interviews a couple of kids who were addicted to using the internet every day, and their parents who had no idea what their kids were doing. One of the teenagers who had been interviewed was Jessica Hunter, and she told FRONTLINE that she “didn’t feel like herself…she felt famous” and that she “liked how she didn’t feel like herself.” Jessica had admitted that she had developed a whole new persona after she began her second secret life on the internet. She was only 14 years old and she was posting inappropriate pictures of herself online for everyone to see. Her parents had no idea what was going on with their daughter either. Jessica’s father stated, “I had no idea what she was doing on the internet. That was a big surprise.” Her parents were shocked at what they had seen of their daughter online. Jessica’s mother stood behind had and made her delete it right in front of her. Jessica claimed that “It hurts so badly when something so important to you just gets taken away.” Eventually Jessica’s parents were alright with what she was doing with her life online, once they knew how happy it made her feel.
Digital media and the internet had impacted my life quite a lot. I admit that I use the internet often and watch television and movies sometimes. Even though I do not have a Facebook or a Myspace or any sort of online social connection like that, I use the internet to browse for things that I find slightly important or things that benefit me with what I am doing. I would probably write about how using the internet for pointless information browsing and gossip is really unnecessary. Unfortunately I do not have cable so I cannot watch the news. I have to use the internet to find news sites and international news so I can keep up with the world around me. That is the only reason why I choose to use the internet for this sort of stuff. When I find information, I do not really know how real or accurate it is because it does not come directly from the news source, so it feels like gossip to me. I do not like gossip so I feel like I do not know what is going on. I know I can look online at the direct news sites, but once I go to another site, different news shows and I can’t help but to read what it is about. Web browsing like shopping online is not beneficial because you can easily go to that store and look around for yourself, unless of course the store is clear across the continent. I believe that the internet should be used for school purposes only, not when you are too lazy or too stubborn to step out into the world and show your face.The internet is dangerous for everyone, but if you feel like you can be safe enough to display your private information you can do what you want.