Digital, Digital Get Down (My tribute to *NSYNC)

I thought the discussion and Frontline video were really interesting in last Thursday’s class. I generally look at all the technology we have at our fingertips as a good thing. We are able to communicate with people almost anywhere, anytime, and any place. Some people feel that being able to communicate 24/7 is a bad thing, however. It is convenient, but at the same time taking a walk around campus, you will see 75% of the people walking around talking on their cell phones, while 20% are chatting away on facebook chat or emailing. The remaining 5% are probably eating or talking to people in person. However, I feel that the claim that technology has corrupted out youth is a bit far-reaching. Yes, technology is a huge part of our generation, but just because we use broken and abbreviated speech while texting and emailing, does not mean that we are not capable of composing a proper letter or essay.

As far as the in-class Frontline viewing on youth and technology, that was really eye-opening for me. You always hear about the 14 year old kid chatting with the 45 year old man and the unfortunate kidnappings of kids meeting with people on the internet, but this special exposed other things to me about technology. Technology is not the problem, it is how we are using and reacting to it. Technology like myspace, facebook, and IM are tools for communication and connecting with friends. Unfortunately, as frontline exposed, we are using these sites for gathering a heightened number of friends and doing things that make us feel a little naughty, but since it is on the computer, it’s not so bad.

I really feel that parents play a huge part in the way kids approach technology. For instance, that crazy over-bearing mother that constantly was asking her kids what they were doing and asking them for their passwords is not the right way to deal with kids and the internet. It is good to be concerned, but at the same time, I have found that many times when a child has an extremely controlling parent, they tend to be worse off. She only made the problems worse because her kids felt that they had to hide things from her and go to other people’s houses just to use the internet. At the same time, however, I think it is necessary for parents to monitor their children’s use of technology. For example, I don’t think that 13 year-olds should really have cell phones, and I think that having a centrally located computer for the kids is a pretty good idea. This will allow the parent to monitor what the kids are doing and also how much time they are spending on the internet. If the parents are interested in what their children are doing on the computer, not the extent of standing over their shoulders every time they are on the computer, I feel that technology might not be such a big problem for today’s youth.