Youth, internet & social media: Good thing or Bad thing?

Helix said:

humans are more interconnected than ever before.

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Sometimes, I wonder if that's really true. I think there must be a balance within internet social networking and 'real life' social networking.

ecofarm said:

For most people, it's not that simple. One does not simply decide "fk it, my kid can go online" and that's that. Why are you dropping the 'youth' part of the topic?

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Well, you're not going to be able to stop your kid from using facebook and whatnot. Go ahead and try, it'll only make them want to make a facebook even more.

The point is that people will have to make their own decisions on how they want to use social networking, regardless of age.

I don't think kids should be involved with social media to any degree. They can socialize in school, just like I did. I didn't have the internet. Video games were just starting to become popular and nothing close to what kids have access to now. The main issue I have with social media isn't the amount of control that parents should exercise over their children, it's the overwhelming amount of places you can go on the internet. Without parental controls enabled on a computer, kids are free to do whatever they want on the internet. Trust me, they are not working on their book report or doing their homework when you think they are, unless you have parental controls limiting their online access.

Parents are just plain stupid when it comes to their kids. They think little johnny is going to be a good boy on the internet and not require supervision. He is going to look at educational things. He wouldn't dare look at porn or harass someone at school. That's not my little johnny they say. It is proven with kids that if you give them an inch, they will take a mile. I don't trust any child on the internet.

The whole point of parenting is to be involved with your kids, interact with them. Parents these days just give them a cell phone and a laptop and let them have at it. Allowing a child to discover the world is a fantastic idea, but don't let them do it on their own.

Voltaire X said:

The point is that people will have to make their own decisions on how they want to use social networking, regardless of age.

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No, I think kids can be and are under some adult supervision and limitations. Leaving it up to kids to decide how they want to use social networking sounds stupid.

I think the internet/social media has exposed some uncomfortable truths about humans. It's a little different in a smaller community such as DP, but on larger message boards and sites (such as youtube comments) it's absolutely stunning how cruel some people will behave when they're protected by a wall of anonymity.

ecofarm said:

No, I think kids can be and are under some adult supervision and limitations. Leaving it up to kids to decide how they want to use social networking sounds stupid.

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You're not going to be able to control how your kids use the internet. It's just a fact of life. You can't be there monitoring them 24/7. What if they decide to make a facebook account while at a friend's house? Also, you don't want to give social networking the forbidden fruit appeal. Teaching your kids about the harms of the internet is a good thing, but trying to control them will just lead to problems. I've seen it happen many times. The kids with the super protective parents don't trust their parents and try to hide everything from them, while the kids with the more accepting parents are able to keep their parents involved with their day-to-day activities because there isn't fear of authority.

Voltaire X said:

You're not going to be able to control how your kids use the internet. It's just a fact of life. You can't be there monitoring them 24/7. What if they decide to make a facebook account while at a friend's house? Also, you don't want to give social networking the forbidden fruit appeal. Teaching your kids about the harms of the internet is a good thing, but trying to control them will just lead to problems. I've seen it happen many times. The kids with the super protective parents don't trust their parents and try to hide everything from them, while the kids with the more accepting parents are able to keep their parents involved with their day-to-day activities because there isn't fear of authority.

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Thus, you think kids should decide what they can and cannot do online? Do you also oppose parental controls on a computer?

ecofarm said:

Thus, you think kids should decide what they can and cannot do online? Do you also oppose parental controls on a computer?

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My point is that the kids will make the decisions about what they want to do online regardless of what you do about it. Parental controls aren't very accurate in blocking things and can be easily bypassed. Then there's the fact that you can't control what your kid does online on any computers they use outside of the house, and putting up controls on the home computer will make your kid very curious about what is out there that you don't want him/her to see.

Voltaire X said:

My point is that the kids will make the decisions about what they want to do online regardless of what you do about it. Parental controls aren't very accurate in blocking things and can be easily bypassed. Then there's the fact that you can't control what your kid does online on any computers they use outside of the house, and putting up controls on the home computer will make your kid very curious about what is out there that you don't want him/her to see.

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And what is it that they could see? Compare it to 50 years ago, when one of the "worst" things they could get their hands on is a Playboy magazine. Compare it now, when you can imagine the most disgusting thing imaginable and find images and videos online. Or compare to 50 years ago the fact that today you can bully anonymously and expose that humiliation to hundreds of thousands of people instantly via Facebook, YouTube, etc.

I understand the shrug response that "That's life," because it IS life, today. I'm asking people to think critically about what the impacts could be of these mind-blowing technological advances. Show today's high-speed and mobile internet capabilities to someone a mere 20 years ago and it would ****ing blow their mind. We're raising the very first generation ever that will have grown up with this internet-everywhere-at-all-times reality we've just come into.

Helix said:

i'll vote that the benefits greatly outweigh the downsides. humans are more interconnected than ever before. if there's a flaw in that, it's a flaw in the species, not in the communication technology.

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I believe the bolded to be true. Humans may be more interconnected than ever before, but it seems to me like a very shallow connectedness, rather than a deeper more meaningful type. You and I can talk over the internet, without ever having met. We talk back and forth, but be don't really relate, except to the extent that you and I can form a mental image of each other. For the most part, I think it's shallow, although every once in awhile, a deeper relationship does happen among anonymous people, due to particular identification with how others express themselves.

As for generally, kids (and some adults as well) seem pretty insecure if they don't constantly have a phone in their hand, and aren't constantly communicating. I personally think it is a way for some people to avoid any private reflective time for themselves, which I think is not good for you in the long run. I have a cheapie pre-paid cell phone. I carry it in case I have an emergency, or if something really important comes up. It's a joke how few minutes I use, lol. My son, on the other hand, carries a cell phone always, and frequently talks and texts. If he forgets his phone, he will turn around and go back home to get it, even if he's running late. If I forget my phone, I don't care, and there's no way in hell I am going back home to get it. It just isn't that important to me. That's what I was alluding to with the obsessiveness/ neurotic comment in my earlier post.