Growing up Online with the Internet - Personal Statement Example

The internet – which was considered an adult domain for a long time – has suddenly been overtaken by teenagers. Children are increasingly involved with using the internet as a medium of self-expression and interaction, and the concerns raised by parents often are an expression of the reduced control they feel over their child’s life. Some of these fears are real, and need to be addressed at the individual as well as community levels – but on occasion, the concern is misdirected and may be focused on the wrong element of the child’s life.

The documentary tries to go beyond the propaganda and understand the experiences of some children and combine that with the views of experts and parents to understand the phenomena of a child’s experiences with the internet on a deeper and more rational level. This is an extremely important issue in today’s age given the different technologies that children and teens have access to. Phones, computers, and portable devices all contribute to their ability to access the internet and associated applications through every waking moment. While there is little discounting the value of social communication and learning that technology brings to these children, the concerns about uncensored conversations, unchaperoned interactions with strangers, and independent choices that are unsupervised by adults can sometimes become very real.

The internet does help people make friends and gain information about new friends and acquaintances. A student new at a school is more likely to make friends online than in real life given the lack of pressure in approaching someone online as against offline. These online friendships can often translate into friendships in the real world; while friendships from the real world can be kept alive and nurtured regardless of location.

The internet does provide several research opportunities – about the world at large, as well as about oneself. Teens can explore personas and traits that they may not be able to experiment with in real life without negative consequences. They are also able to form and nurture relationships that may be intimidating for them in real life.

On the flip side; the lack of guidance may be a distinct concern when it comes to teens using the internet. Parents are often concerned about the lack of control that they have over their child’s use of the internet, and in a few cases, this is justified. In a majority of the cases though, this may not be a real concern in itself, and may only be a symptom of something else that is wrong in the child’s life. Inappropriate behavior online – offline is a call for attention and help that is directed through a medium that the child feels most comfortable using. This may be considered a symptom of issues that the child is experiencing in other areas of life and not just related to the internet. It is true though; those poor decisions may get made when there is a complete lack of guidance and increasingly higher peer pressure in the teen’s online life.

Experts believe that the behaviors that were exhibited by previous generations in their offline lives and the experiments that they attempted in understanding themselves are now carried out by teens in the online world. In consequence, some of the real problems faced by children in the real world have now started showing up in the online world. Cyberbullying and stalking have become real concerns that haunt parents and teachers; more so because there may be no visible indicators that this is happening; and a child may suffer the consequences for a long time before he/she asks for help or is identified as needing it. The anonymity that allows some to express themselves and develop positive traits and abilities also is the bane when it comes to real problems and crimes. It may become impossible to find the person behind the persona that is used to conduct a bullying operation, and it may become difficult for the layman to locate this individual in the real world. Even in doing so; taking action against someone who has used the internet to because trouble may have its problems given state and country borders and legislations.

Another concern is that teens may make poor decisions for themselves; and become promiscuous at an earlier age, given that they often explore their sexuality online. The technology available easily to almost every child affords them to venture into the world of adult behaviors and thoughts long before they may be able to understand the intricacies and values associated with the same.

All these issues and concerns are often very real to parents and may cause strife for the child. But often, the internet does protect even the teens using it indiscriminately; with the increased safety measures that they and their parents can use to ensure their safety and privacy. The important concern is that the Internet does not allow for guidance from significant adults, and perhaps the answer is in the use of the internet to develop a bond with the teens so that they have access to a resource of guidance when they need it. I find this documentary a very well-developed one and would rate it as an A Grade documentary, useful for parents as well as older teens. Read More