Youth and New Media

Adolescents and tweens have a dependency on new media that if left unaddressed could be problematic. At the same time, there are benefits to youth being connected to one another through new media.

Parents worry about their children using social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace because they fear their teens and children might be exposed to cyber-bullying and online predators. Another fear is the volume in which teens send texts, and the infamous 'sexts.'

There are merits too these fears. No parent wants their child to be preyed upon or bullied. No parent wants their child sending sexts. However, these problems are not as rampant as the news makes them appear.

Although serious issues, teens have a good level of intelligence and discretion. Most don't get bullied or harassed or feel sexually violated. While I realistically feel it is impossible to eradicate these issues, the situation can be improved if parents and educators talk to teens about these issues. Teens, being the jerks they often are, won't thank their parents for this, but most are intelligent enough to take advice from their parents, even if they won't admit it.

Educators can do their part by managing the use of phones in school and connections to social networking sites.This won't eliminate the issues, but the risk of penalties for texting in school or using social networking sites does provide limited protection and prevention form the new media horrors parents are so worried about.

To teens, the ability to have access to sites like Facebook and have access to a phone to text are very important. This constant communication helps them develop relationships with classmates and fulfills their social needs.

We live in a society in which social interaction is spreading out.Teens are making friends with people who live outside of their neighborhood.Connection to their friends, who might live further away, is important to maintaining those meaningful friendships.With divorce and families frequently relocating for employment reasons teens are also moving about. This can split friends apart. Instant communication on the internet and texting helps keep connections going. If teens had to go through the process of writing a letter or using antiquated e-mails these connections might break down simply through laziness.

Teens tend not to be as lazy when they are using the fashionable forms of communication. The youth is very active using Facebook and texting, two communication mediums that are very fashionable at the moment.

Teens need to stay connected to maintain healthy relationships. They need access to the new communications technologies because there is no going back. The social networking sites and the text is the new way of doing things until the next communication breakthrough happens. Parents can do their part by learning the basics of how to use new media and how their children use these media. They can then give their children advice on how to stay protected, setting standards for what is acceptable behavior. I feel this is not a fail-proof solution, but the best available option.