October 14, 2009
712 words
Click to accept with terms and conditions of this site.
Digital media trends are changing at a rapid rate. Leading this revolution is a herd of multitasking teenagers. Youth today are connected to the internet in some way or the other. This generation is unique in terms of its fast lifestyle, where they try to squeeze in much as they can into every second of their lives. Teens give highest priority to their friendships. Technological advancements have allowed teens to extend their friendships into cyberspace, reaching out to people without considering geographical limitations. Today’s teens are constantly connected to each other. There are teens who communicate every second. These are teens with a host of options including cell phones, internet, instant messaging and so on. Social media like networking sites are easily the most commonly used platform for interaction.
A social networking site is an online place where a user can create a profile and build a personal network that connects him or her to other users. The most common names here are Facebook, My Space and Orkut. Prateek Madkaikar, a grade nine student of Our Own English High School says “The first thing I do when I get home from school is log in to my facebbook page to check my notifications. I see most of my classmates online as soon as we get home. ” These sites contain many features, all rolled into one, providing avenues for both content creation and evaluation. Members share photos, thoughts, opinions and news. The sites also allow users to choose who gets to view their profiles. While most play safe and add only familiar faces and names; Every now and then we hear stories of kids being taken for a ride by strangers they meet on these sites. The number of people registering on social networking sites is growing at an alarming rate. It would be an understatement to say that this is the preferred method of communication for the 13-19 age group. These kids may be more in tune with technology than their parents or the generations before them. However, social networking has its share of evils, which may be too dangerous to handle for them. “I hear frightening stories about networking sites all the time” says Mrs Rosamma George, a housewife. “I make sure my kids never put up anything bad on the sites. They could be misused.” Her daughter Megan says “I use facebook too. But I never add strangers. It could be dangerous, It took me a long time to convince mama (her mother), to allow me to create a profile and to upload a profile picture. She’s being paranoid but I know what I’m doing online” ocial networking has both positive and negative sides to it. One wonders why teens feel the need to constantly make their personal lives public. This could be done in an effort to emulate the lives of celebrities, that the media today has left open to the public. Sites allow them to try on different identities, in a bid to try and find one they like. Seena Viswan, a teacher says “I understand if teenagers wish to express themselves on social platforms. But I teach the fourth grade and I was shocked to hear about 40% of my class had accounts on facebook.” There is a large number of kids below twelve on facebook as well. There is even a facebook group for those who have joined before they hit thirteen years of age.eens view social networking sites as a place to interact with their peers, while in the comfort of their homes, away from the awkward face to face interactions. They choose to isolate themselves behind their screens in a bid to maintain the same intrapersonal relationships they run from in real life. Such self closeting also handicaps their social development. They are not making strong relationships, choosing instead to form transient cyber relationships. Pearl Rajan from Middlesex University says “It’s easier to interact with people online as I lose intrest in conversations quickly. When I’m online, I can interact with all my friends, while doing other things on the side. I can do this without the risk of offending them ”
The importance of parental control
Photo credits: Blassy Boben
No comments:
Post a Comment