Teens being misrepresented by MySpace and Facebook
I have been looking at teen spaces lately and have been astounded by the images I have seen. I have witness teens doing and posing in pictures that will come back to haunt them in later years. Whether they were drinking underage or kissing a multitude of different partners the images were devastating. Being a teen a few years ago I did certain things that I was not proud of. When I was a teen the internet did have myspace and facebook so we didn’t put our pictures on the net. Times have changed and teens have no problem putting inappropriate pictures on the net.
I have taking the opportunity to check a few Internet websites from teens that I work with. One picture had a two teens and one had knife under the other teen’s throat. The other teens had pictures of them drinking underage and some pictures showed girls kissing each other. Two girls kissing is not the issue, but if you claim that you are straight you are performing an act that shows different aspect that carries a notion. I wanted to push that teens are not aware that these pictures will carry a ramification for them in future years. When they are going out a finding a prominent job and they come across a myspace page where there is a knife being held to your throat, employers will fawn upon it. The Internet is a public space but whatever pictures you put up it will stay there and anyone can retrieve them. I was interested to put up links to these websites but for confidentiality reasons I will respect the teens wish’s and will not do so. I spoke to them and explained that these pictures many cause a problem in future years. Some understood my point and others thought that I was crazy.
The teens in the facebbok and myspace page were of all different ages. There was an immense sexual representation in some spaces from both girls and boys. There were teens with their partners showing their affection towards each other. As far as race and class there were different ethnicity's and people for different social classes. Even if they did not have a computer they would use their friends and find ways to access a computer. These teen spaces are very important to them and will find any way to post the latest pictures. The implication from the teen’s perspective is to have fun and show what they did this weekend. The intention maybe innocent but certain photos will catch up to them in their adult lives.
This goes to show that teens are digital natives (Prensky) to the Internet. “Students today are all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet” (Prensky). I can definitely agree with Prensky’s argument, teens have phones that must access the Internet because they are simply bored with a regular phone. When I go to work I don’t see my phone until I’m done with my shift. The teens are constantly playing on the phone and checking new websites out, I can’t get them to work. I love to work with the teens because they teach me knew things and bring me up to date on things, but they cannot work without their phone nearby. “Computers games, Email, the Internet, cell phones and instant messaging are integral parts of their lives” (Prenky). This statement really defines who teenagers are today, digital natives. It was interesting to see in kid nation that they wanted more out houses than a TV. That surprised me because TV is an important part of their lives.
I wanted to make a clear statement by saying that teens are using Internet spaces in ways that may hurt their future. It may seem cool that you are on myspace and have more than a 100 friends but there will be consequences for inappropriate pictures. Whether it is other teens, parents, or employer’s people will view these sites and be shocked. I was glad that I was able to do this because I never explored these sites before. It absolutely was an eye opener for me. Being aware of what our youth is exposed to will only help us, help them understand the circumstances.
I have been looking at teen spaces lately and have been astounded by the images I have seen. I have witness teens doing and posing in pictures that will come back to haunt them in later years. Whether they were drinking underage or kissing a multitude of different partners the images were devastating. Being a teen a few years ago I did certain things that I was not proud of. When I was a teen the internet did have myspace and facebook so we didn’t put our pictures on the net. Times have changed and teens have no problem putting inappropriate pictures on the net.
I have taking the opportunity to check a few Internet websites from teens that I work with. One picture had a two teens and one had knife under the other teen’s throat. The other teens had pictures of them drinking underage and some pictures showed girls kissing each other. Two girls kissing is not the issue, but if you claim that you are straight you are performing an act that shows different aspect that carries a notion. I wanted to push that teens are not aware that these pictures will carry a ramification for them in future years. When they are going out a finding a prominent job and they come across a myspace page where there is a knife being held to your throat, employers will fawn upon it. The Internet is a public space but whatever pictures you put up it will stay there and anyone can retrieve them. I was interested to put up links to these websites but for confidentiality reasons I will respect the teens wish’s and will not do so. I spoke to them and explained that these pictures many cause a problem in future years. Some understood my point and others thought that I was crazy.
The teens in the facebbok and myspace page were of all different ages. There was an immense sexual representation in some spaces from both girls and boys. There were teens with their partners showing their affection towards each other. As far as race and class there were different ethnicity's and people for different social classes. Even if they did not have a computer they would use their friends and find ways to access a computer. These teen spaces are very important to them and will find any way to post the latest pictures. The implication from the teen’s perspective is to have fun and show what they did this weekend. The intention maybe innocent but certain photos will catch up to them in their adult lives.
This goes to show that teens are digital natives (Prensky) to the Internet. “Students today are all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet” (Prensky). I can definitely agree with Prensky’s argument, teens have phones that must access the Internet because they are simply bored with a regular phone. When I go to work I don’t see my phone until I’m done with my shift. The teens are constantly playing on the phone and checking new websites out, I can’t get them to work. I love to work with the teens because they teach me knew things and bring me up to date on things, but they cannot work without their phone nearby. “Computers games, Email, the Internet, cell phones and instant messaging are integral parts of their lives” (Prenky). This statement really defines who teenagers are today, digital natives. It was interesting to see in kid nation that they wanted more out houses than a TV. That surprised me because TV is an important part of their lives.
I wanted to make a clear statement by saying that teens are using Internet spaces in ways that may hurt their future. It may seem cool that you are on myspace and have more than a 100 friends but there will be consequences for inappropriate pictures. Whether it is other teens, parents, or employer’s people will view these sites and be shocked. I was glad that I was able to do this because I never explored these sites before. It absolutely was an eye opener for me. Being aware of what our youth is exposed to will only help us, help them understand the circumstances.
1 comment:
This was a great project... I want to hear more about what issues you raised witht he teenagers you work with and more importantly, how they responded to your concerns!
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