Reading Response--Growing Up Online

Rachel Dretzin and John Maggio directed the video, “Growing Up Online.” They uncovered the aspects of life being connected to the internet for teenagers today. From opinions of teachers, parents, and the teens themselves, Dretzin and Maggio have exposed what goes on in the hidden lifestyles of teenagers online, claiming, “Parents are concerned about the wrong thing.” Information and pictures posed on the internet is generally done so in secure locations where the individual has the opportunity to decided who is allowed access to view the posted information. Teenagers claim to understand that when someone unfamiliar approaches them online to block communication between them, especially if the unfamiliar person suggests something uncomfortable or inappropriate. Parents of teenagers have grown up in a generation where the internet has been gradually introduced to them. The flaws, holes, and scandal of email, identity theft, and online pedifiles have been unveiled before their eyes. The internet now, has come a long way and as there are still potential for problems relating to the unknown realm of cyberspace, the majority of holes have been patched, and the internet holds more danger in ways in which coincide with the playground than with pedifiles. Dretzin and Maggio open their viewers eyes to risky behavior, dangerous lies to be bought into, and bullying all enclosed on a computer screen with its own set of social rules to abide by. A freshman girl describes the thought process of posting pictures on MySpace, a social networking site, as “You want to look sexy, but not too sexy because you don’t want to get called a whore.” The online interactions take the pressures of adolescence from a Monday through Friday school week to a 24 hour per day experience. It puts more strain on teenagers to live up to their peer expectations.

My current experience with the internet allows me to keep in contact with people I don’t have the opportunity to see regularly. Between moving and working at a summer camp for multiple years with a tight knit staff from around the continent, social media sites like Facebook have given me opportunities to keep in contact with people in an efficient way. However, even Facebook has realized the dependence and addiction social media brings upon its users. Facebook won’t delete an account but offers deactivation where an account is temporarily disabled but preserved for later use. To deactivate a Facebook account, a survey must be completed on why the action is being taken. One of the options to choose from is “I spend too much time using Facebook.” When Facebook proves to be a major distraction, young people have been known to deactivate their account just for a time being—to be able to focus on homework winter quarter, or to get the image of an ex-boyfriend or girlfriends out of their mind. Leading a group of high schoolers has given me insight into their reasoning to take a hiatus from social media, but always only for a certain amount of time. Teenagers today are unable to disconnect themselves from the internet without feeling immense loss. I was part of running a high school program within the summer camp I worked for. A (used to be) minor part of the experience was the “break” from technology and the real world. The suggestion to turn cell phones off in this program was widely ignored, causing the director to put his fist down. The result was tears. Seventeen year old, soon to be seniors in high school were brought to tears by the separation of their phones (which included access to Facebook and Myspace). The instant gratification sources like cell phones, texting, and internet socializing are exploited by teenagers, but the only power that exists to hone in the addiction lies within themselves.