After watching the documentary in class Growing Up Online it really got me thinking about the way that I've grown up. Before computers things used to be so much simpler. Slower, yes, but simpler. People didn't spend hours on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, instead they would spend that precious time outside getting fresh air and hanging out with their friends in person, or here's a wild thought, doing their homework by hand! Or at least that's how I started out when I was younger.
These days however things are drastically different. No more are the days of calling your friends on the phone or writing letters by hand and sending them by snail mail. Now, people do all of their work online, it's now considered much more convenient to send a quick email or to simply text your friends if you want to hang out instead of calling them.
In Growing Up Online the documentary delves deep into the lives of teens that use the internet to not only socialize but to deal with their social problems. Girls can now have fights over MySpace without actually saying anything to each other in person. Teens can now create alter egos that are the versions of themselves that they're too shy to be and the people that they wish they were.
In my opion all of this is sick. While I support the use of the internet to do research and to socialize with others I hate the idea that teens are trying to use the internet as a scape goat for their real issues. I also feel like when teens use more and more technology they are loosing basic social skills and the ability to hold a conversation and I find that just downright sad.
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