New Generation

Every generation deals with challenges. The generation of the twentieth century has had to deal with rapid technological advancement and we are quickly becoming a digital nation. The world is at our fingertips and this technology can be dangerous without limitations.  Two emerging questions are: what is the proper age to allow children to have full unsupervised internet access, and should parents monitor their children online? In the film, Growing Up Online, children were shown to be online for large amounts of time. Because of this, they are losing opportunities to develop face-to-face communication skills.

With the click of a button, children are exposing themselves to the public. For example, girls bullied each other online and it lead to a fight at school. The fight was videotaped on cell phones and posted on YouTube. As a result, future employers and anyone can now see how those girls handle experiences.

The internet has become a social network between friends and strangers. Posting pictures and videos has become the norm. No one monitors online sites; instead, the internet is what you make of it.

I believe that children should be watched and their internet use limited until they are mature enough to make conscious decisions as to whether the material they are viewing or posting is appropriate. Without parental supervision, the internet can be dangerous. For example, children can be bullied and even learn how to commit suicide.

However, parents must learn that there is a fine line between protecting children and over stepping their boundaries by not giving their children the opportunity to make responsible decisions on their own. Each situation is different and must be judged accordingly. The Internet has many positive attributes but can be very negative if used inappropriately.  The internet is like other forms of media in that appropriate legal and ethical boundaries will have to be established.