Although it first seemed like a public service announcement that was warning parents about the dangers of the internet, “Growing up Online” turned out to be very different. It was entertaining, especially for a teenager, to see if other teenagers do the same things I do online. I think it was a half way accurate representation of how kids use the internet, however.
Living their Lives Essentially Online
Even though I expressed my entertainment received by the film, some things about it bothered me, especially in this section of the film. Most teenagers I know DO NOT live their lives online. Living your life online, in my opinion, ,means that you wake up and get online and stay online until it’s time for bed, or you get off but get back on constantly. Students obviously have school and even if we did have the time to do this, we would not. The internet has a lot to offer, but it gets boring after a while. In the film, teenagers seemed like online zombies. It seemed like they ONLY got online all day, as if it was a sport. This is not usually the case.
As far as keeping in touch with parents, I only know one teenager who says that it is easier to connect with her parent through email. I find it silly to live with someone and feel like the only way you can talk to them is through email (I take this comment back ONLY if you guys have different schedules and don’t own cell phones, which most people do). Most teens I know discuss things with their parents when they get home or on the phone if their parent is not available.
This segment of the film was an accurate representation for some teenagers in the world today, but not all. I think this part might send the wrong message to someone who does not live with a typical teenager.
Revolution in Classrooms and Social Life
This segment of the film was a lot more accurate in my opinion. Many teenagers do use online as a way to cheat, which is why most schools stress the consequences of plagiarism. It saddened me to hear that one teacher say that she may have to find a new field of work because this is not the teaching that she is used to. If everyone felt that way (felt that they should just give up on their students, the ones that cheat AND the ones that do not cheat) we would have a screwed up education system.
Self Expression: Trying on New Identities
I think this was also a very accurate representation of teenagers and their online worlds. Most teens do create a different identity when they create social networking pages. However, unlike the girl in the film, most of them do not know it. People become bolder on the internet because they are typing these words into a computer and uploading these pictures into a computer. The computer does not judge you neither does it know you. Therefore, you feel like you can do anything because the computer is not going to look at you funny because you act out of character, or advise you not to upload those embarrassing pictures.
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