Growing Up Online Reaction
The other day my class watched a video on PBS about teens who are growing up with the internet available to them. The video gives a young person's view on the ability to use the internet to search and find anything that they want and to be able to make new friends as well as communicate with old ones. However, there was also a teacher that explained how with these new dodads and devices she didn't want to be a teacher anymore because she was so used to the way that things were. I was not able to watch the entire program but from what I saw and heard I feel that I am in accord with the teens. I am fortunate enough to have been able to use the internet from the start of my middle school days and I believe that thanks to the internet I have truly had it easier than anyone who came along who didn't have the internet.
I do have one gripe about the video and it has to do with that teacher that couldn't adjust to the new age technology. The internet is here to stay and even if a teacher may be used to teaching the old fashion way, in order to keep up with the times that teacher has to find a way to incorporate technology into the class, and must find a way to overcome the dreaded "copy" and "paste" as well as the websites that just give answers to homework questions. Speaking of which, I feel that this may be the only problem with the internet when it comes to school work. A student can easily type in their questions on a search engine such as Google and with no problem find the answers without even trying to use their brains. At this point the internet is a huge hindrance, but the benefit of searching and researching from the internet overcomes this hindrance.
The video also gave insight on how some teens use the internet to make a persona so that they can have friends online, something that I had done in the past, and actually still have my alias. One of the saddest moments, however, in the video was the young man who killed himself because he was bullied both online and offline. Many teens face this today, but the way to overcome these bullies is to tell someone, no one can help unless you ask for it. What's more is that if the people that are bullying you online are from the same school as you, then if you make someone aware of all that they are doing, someone can stop this person, or group of people, from their heinous actions.
My opinion on the entire video is that the internet can be your friend and your worst enemy. It is really up to you to figure out how you want to use it and how you will let it work in your life. I have been a child that grew up online and I used the internet for all the resources it was worth; the videos, the social media aspects, the help for homework, and the list goes on. It just all depends on who you are. The internet can be a best friend or a terrible enemy.
