Comments on: Teen Identity and the Internet

By: Karen Kenderes

Karen Kenderes — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:25:50 +0000

It is true that many teens spend way too much time interacting in a virtual world rather than in reality. I too am guilty of doing this. I’m constantly texting or checking my Facebook. With that comes saying things I may not normally say in person because there is no fear of that face-to-face interaction when something is said online instead. I like the example that was used about online classes. I have taken more than one online class, and I’ve always felt much more comfortable voicing my opinions in that kind of setting rather than in person. There is much less of a feeling of public humiliation, rejection and disagreement from others. However, the online community is not always a safe place. Cyber bullying is a big problem with drastic results. A boy who went to my high school as constantly ridiculed on Facebook for being gay. He eventually decided to commit suicide because he felt as though no one would accept him. It is a sad truth that technology has been able to lead us to tragedy such as that. With all of these different outlets of communication available, it is difficult for the youth of today to figure out who they really are because they portray different parts of themselves in different situations.

By: Caitlin Weber

Caitlin Weber — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 03:59:28 +0000

I think its good to be aware of the affect media has on teenagers and young adults as we grow up and develop. With media at our fingertips, we can project whatever image we want to convey to others, some people are authentic and others are pretending to be someone they wish they could really be. I don’t like how the media does this and how technology gives the recourses for people to be fake, but at the end of the day it really is our choice who we want to be and become. Well written article and research, I really enjoyed reading this especially because it’s such a heavy topic that needs to be talked about more often.

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By: Carrie Neumann

Carrie Neumann — Tue, 24 May 2011 02:43:19 +0000

The presence of and ready access to the internet and social media has certainly impacted our teenagers in so many ways and in areas that we have probably yet to discover. The post discusses some extreme examples of the depth that social media can negatively impact our youth and has taken bullying to the cyber-level and viral in mere moments. The rapid fire reposting and tweeting can have devastating consequences on our children who may not have the maturity to look past an embarrassing moment and see that this too shall pass.
Are our children, who have developed so many virtual friendships, really learning how to develop true interpersonal skills by spending so much time online? Will their personal relationships suffer from the mere volume of time they spend online? Do they value (or at least see as more urgent) electronic modes of communicating over more human contact?

By: Sabrina Harrison

Sabrina Harrison — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:42:53 +0000

Class: Mass Media and Cultures (R51-S11C)
Student: Sabrina Harrison

I definitely agree, social media has changed the way of the world. Having to grow up in a \virtual world\ definitely increases your dependency on the internet and etc. With the children that are growing up today, This is all they know. And as they grow things in this virtual world continue to progress and help shape their lives. Children today don’t know anything about before, because once again, this is all they know.

By: April Overholt

April Overholt — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 01:43:28 +0000

This was a great post. I am fascinated by the impact FaceBook and social media sites are having on its users, especially young people. When you have an online profile, it is so easy to show to others exactly who you want them to see. You can choose to put up or “tag” only the best pictures of yourself, even though in real life, we all have our bad hair days. You can sit with your cursor blinking in the comment box, making sure your post is the wittiest thing you can think of, which you never would have been able to come up with in the moment in real life. And you choose exactly what details to put in your “information” section, picking only the ones you view as positive. This replaces getting to know people in real life, with all their flaws and faults—the information they would never post on their FaceBook profile.

By: Nicole Carl

Nicole Carl — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 10:45:28 +0000

One part that stood out to me was the comment on the amount of hours that students and teens spend on the computer. In the past and generally even today, if statistics are given about the amount of time a group of people spends watching tv, on the computer, or playing video games, it has generally had a negative connotation to it. I am curious, has the statistics on the number of hours on the computer changed to a simple statistic and not a negatively connotated meaning? Because in their defense, that is where much of students school work is found and done. I think to much an extent, they have no control over the amount of hours that they spend on the computer.

By: Zelong Chen

Zelong Chen — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:54:21 +0000

I really like the point of this article. Internet brings not only the easy way to get information but also floods of the problems for the society.I can still recall there was one issue of the ABC world news interviewed the high school students in Shanghai and students said when they feel unhappy what they should do, they almost reply;surf the Internet is the most way to be happy.Cognitive dissonance is now becoming more and more within the teens. Online they are Mr. Humor or Mr. Confidence, while in the real life they are Mr. Sad. Internet for them is a shelter. Lots of news were reported that teens are addicted to the Internet and have a lot of side effects. After I reading this passage I realize this kind of problems not only happen in China but also everywhere. This kind of problem also not only happened within the teens but also the people who often stay online. Even myself sometimes feel time fly and sometimes I ask my self who am I? This horrible. At this point, some of the Chinese government policy I think is good for teens such like teens cannot see any adult things on website, when they play any Internet game over 2 hours the Internet will force you to leave the game. As far as I am concerned, freedom on Internet is necessary but too much freedom will bring so many problems then it should be controlled. At least the question “who you are?” should be correctly answered by all the teens first.

By: Nicole Yale

Nicole Yale — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 23:07:55 +0000

Definitely some interesting points made in this post. I knew teens spend a lot of time online (I have a 15 year old sister) but I had no idea it was 31 hours, close to 50 percent.

Even though I recognize the improvements social media sites have made within society (distribution of news faster, networking, etc.), I still can’t help but feel like social media may not be the golden child a lot of people are suggesting it is. As a graduate student I’m working on researching the use of social media in political campaigns. What I’ve found so far not only suggests that teens (as well as other demographics) spend a lot of time online, tend to construct fake online identities, have a harder time interacting interpersonally without technology, but also suggests in many cases, social media is lowering the quality of education.

Not only are teens (and other social media users) not being held accountable for the majority of what they say or share, they’re also not paying attention to how they construct their opinions. Studies are showing that teens are now finding it acceptable to use online lingo/language in everyday life, sometimes even academically. This wouldn’t be a problem if the online lingo barely resembled actual sentences or words.

By: Tyler Bohlman

Tyler Bohlman — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:06:21 +0000

I think Identity as a teenager is hard, always has been and always will be, but with the advent of the new social medias it’s supposedly going to help…but does it? With the questions that facebook asks you to answer in their profiles (favorite books, movies etc.) it’s simply another way for the bullies and the mean spirited people in life to segregate the person from society. “Oh you like Twilight? Ew what’s wrong with you…” or “Books? books are for nerds” all of these are just more fodder for someone to have their identity taken. I can understand the notion that you want yourself to be out there, and that you want people to know who you are…I just hope that the realization is there that it isn’t always good.