In my pyschology class right now, I am learning about the Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. We all know the stories behind baby boomers, and can guess what Generation X entails, as most of us students fall under that category. Millennials are the children of today, and are known for their reliabilty on technology. An article I found in The New York Times really made me focus on the fact that children are too reliable on computers; so reliable that they cannot live without them. In the article by Felicia R. Lee, the documentary "Growing up Online" is discussed. One of the parents on the show said, “If you’re basically a grounded kid, you’re going to be fine. We need to teach people good citizenship, a sense of morality, right and wrong, that transfer to the Internet.”
I think this article is a real eye opener to what is happening to our nation's youth, and I am glad to see The New York Times cover a documentary, which will appear on PBS, about how to help the youth. The documentary features teenagers talking about online relationships, many like the ones we have seen on 'How to Catch a Predator', or how easily it is to find tips on being a better anorexic. Parents really need to step up and know what their children are doing on the computers. Recently, a teenage girl hanged herself because a boy online said he no longer liked her, and it was found out that the boy did not even exist, but was made up by neighbor girls to make the teenager feel bad. Recently on Dr. Phil, teens were on the talk show explaining how they made mistakes online, such as rumors on MySpace.
I hope to see more reporters covering actual news stories with hope, such as how to stop online bullying or excessive internet use of youths, instead of Miley Cirus' new haircut or Britney Spears' latest drama.
1 comment:
You can't be too careful online. There's always somebody out there waiting to scam you.
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