response #4

In the video we watched in class on Friday named, “Growing Up Online” I learned just how extreme kids, students and teenagers use the advantages of the internet to their personal lives. The video from frontline interviewed a small number of kids and parents who share their insights on what their experiences were and what were the consequences that resulted. The first to be interviewed in the video was a girl who was 14 I think but thought she looked 18. Her offline experience at school was not so hot, she didn’t feel like she fit in and this is what led her to express herself on the internet. She then discovered putting herself online to tons of viewers. She made up a screen name and posted her thoughts, pictures and shared with almost anyone. She exploded onto the web, she met new friends, people who would actually listen and understand her. It was all fun and games until one of her teachers or something saw her website and thought that what she was doing was a bit pornographic. They told the parents and they immediately intervened. The girl had to then delete every picture that she had ever put online with her mom watching. From that point on her parents monitored her more closely. Another person they interviewed was a father of a thirteen year old boy whose life became affiliated online. The boy learned quickly how to be cool with the whole social network online. The boy like the girl would post pictures and videos of himself just like the girl but in his case nobody was giving him constructive feedback. The harassment was all verbal comments left by his online peers. Eventually it became so intense that he was thinking suicidal thoughts, and with the power of the internet he actually was encouraged into researching the subject. The video said that he committed suicide at thirteen, and some of the fault was directed to comments left by posts online. His father then realized the good and bad things about what kids and teens can do online and what sort of effect that they can leave. This video reminded me just how serious things on the internet can get. Because of technology the internet has played a role in all of our lives some more so than others, but one thing is for sure it can be addicting. From using the internet for communication to using it for school related research we all have fallen victim.