Mesch's Essay: The Internet And Youth Culture

According to CNN, teens spend nine hours a day consuming media. But is that a good thing? Youth can be mocked from posts on social media. Youth is more into their media “life” than real life. One doesn’t even make real friends online. Overall, social media has a negative impact on youth.

The article, “What Adolescents Miss When We Let Them Grow up in Cyberspace,” written by Brent Staples discusses negative influences that internet has toward teens. The author elaborates that teens are far more comfortable with online conversations. Social Media has high expectations to how a teen should act or look. Media emotionally scars teens, demanding them to have clear skin and skinny body. The more people that are connected to their phones, higher the chance of losing relationships. The internet has left many teens with unreal social skills. Real life experiences such as law, teens are not knowledgeable. Teenagers miss out on life experiences that can help them grow into adulthood.

Teens are always on their phones. Whether it’s at the store, school, or even driving. Teenagers are losing communication skills, getting into fights more, and getting distracted in school. These are the effects of teens getting on their phone way too much.

First of all, teens are not aware of all the information that is being targeted towards on the internet so they are easily manipulated by it. In source C, Mizuko Ito states “In both friendship-driven and interest-driven online activity, youth create and navigate new forms of expression and rules for social behaviour. In the process, young people acquire various forms of technical and media literacy by exploring new interests, tinkering, and ‘messing around’ with new forms of media.” (Ito, Source C). Mizuko emphasizes that the youth are constantly bombarded by the media on the internet. This can result in constant manipulation and impact their ability to make unbiased decisions. At last, media is taking away the formal classroom setting where students were disciplined. Mizuko states “New media allow for a degree of freedom and autonomy for youth that is less apparent in a classroom setting.” (Source D). Students today have gained too much freedom which is resulting in lack of discipline. Also, schools are allowing students to browse the web as they please which leads them into believing they have the right to do anything on the internet. In conclusion, students are constantly manipulated by the media and they are given too much freedom which results in their lack of discipline in the classroom and it is making them

In her call to action, The People’s Platform; Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, Astra Taylor addresses underlying social and economic forces of the internet and differential perspectives towards it. Taylor discusses the new internet in which content is king and, people are now the product, this is called Web 2.0. She discusses this topic from a couple viewpoints; those who would believe that the internet is truly the new people’s platform and that it is the golden age of sharing and collaboration, called the Techno-optimists. The counterparts of this interpretation of the internet are what she calls the Techno-Skeptics, who have a similar mindset in that of Nicholas Carr, an author about technology in the modern age, with the

Our society has evolved very much over time. The technology, has impacted it greatly. With technology in our lives, we find ourselves ‘glued’ to our electronics. Now, the question is, what does social media provide us? In Wu’s article, he states, “The devices we use change the way we live much faster than any contest among genes.” Meaning, we rely on these devices to make us happy, and resort to them when we are bored. Similarly, in Castells article, he says, “Media often report that intense use of the Internet increases the risk of isolation, alienation, and withdrawal from society.” However, the article also says that social media has actually “increased sociability, civic engagement, and the intensity of family and friendship relationships, in all cultures.” Answering the question, we actually get something out of using social media. We are allowed to communicate with

It has become common today to dismiss different perspectives, such as Danah Boyd’s, that teenagers aren’t the ones responsible for themselves constantly being on the internet, but society is the one to blame. Many people assume that teenagers have put themselves in the position of being addicted to the internet, yet Danah Boyd complains in her article, “Blame Society, Not the Screen Time”, that, “We put unprecedented demands on our kids, maxing them out with structured activities, homework and heavy expectations.” In making this comment, Danah Boyd argues that adults continuously add stress and pressure to teenagers, which then results in teenagers resorting to the internet as a way of socializing. For many, the internet is simply an escape.

A. (2013). iGeneration: The Social Cognitive Effects of Digital Technology on Teenagers (Doctoral dissertation, Dominican University of CaliforniA). Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED543278

Amy Goldwasser utilizes “What’s the Matter with Kids Today?” to explain how the internet has forged a generation of innovators. Goldwasser begins by sharing a common fear: teenagers using the internet. Many studies claim ignorance of current events and the relevance of literacy while promoting narrow, specialized knowledge. However, Goldwasser promotes a more understanding point of view.

As of the twenty-first century, a growing trend in the usage of technology in daily life activities has become more apparent. Our increasing appetite for speed and convenience has propelled us a hundred years closer to the stars. Technology as a whole has opened up countless opportunities for social advancement and innovations, but at the same time created a void that swallowed many of its “followers”. Danah Boyd’s viewpoint in “Whether it’s bikes or bytes, teens are teens,” illustrates an opinion that rejects the idea of parents shrouding their children from the internet in attempt to retain their innocence. Wholeheartedly agreeing with Boyd, my experiences in life have persuaded me to believe that allowing a child to formulate their own personal

The rapid growth of technology in our society has become more dominant than it was in the 17th and 18th century. Today, technology is used for almost everything in our day to day lives. But the most common usage of technology is for communication and industrialization. However, every good thing has its disadvantage if it is over used, and since technology has become very dominant, it is used by both young and older people but more predominant among the youth of the today. Even more, technology has brought about social networking such as Facebook, Twitter, my space, piazza.com, instagram, tango, and last but not the least texting. According to socialnetworking.procon.org, “47% of American adults used social networking sites like

Unlike previous generations who were “introduced” to the internet, television and social media, the present generation is “born” in it. By this statement, it is implied that children today are much closer to technology and media than adults are, and so, are more likely to be affected by it. Perhaps, the highest impact on the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development of children and adolescents is by media due to its ready availability through Smart phones, tablet PCs and other portable devices. This paper attempts to evaluate some of the influences of media on various aspects of child and adolescent development.

During this time of my virtual teen’s life they experienced many physical, cognitive, and socioemotional changes and developments. In these years they experienced challenges that many adolescents face such as finding their identity, adjusting to high school, developing morals, and adjusting to a divorced family. All the while they were consistently doing well in school academically while having some minor issues socially as they tended to stay shy around new people and keep to a small close group of friends.

Today’s abundance of digital technology is corrupting our youth. Digital technology is preventing the full development of cognitive, social and communication skills in children and adolescents. Electronic devices are introduced to babies and toddlers. Adolescents are glued to their smartphones and tablets. Games and social media have become the primary concern of adolescents and teenagers to the exclusion of real social relationships. Parents often do not intervene and are grateful that their children are being entertained and supposedly not getting into to trouble by engaging with their electronic devices. Research conducted on the internet by adolescents is often haphazard and sloppy. Digital technology which has many positive uses is being misused by the younger generation both academically and socially. The misuse and overuse of technology is causing basic developmental problems in terms of social interaction, cognitive development, attention spans, and emotional stability. This growing trend is being addressed in California legislation, which will be discussed at the end of the essay.

The worth of media is a very controversial topic. Media has given us the ability to do things in new and creative ways such as how we learn and accomplish our everyday tasks. However, we do not always know how to interpurate this information. The technology available today is constantly impacting and influencing society in tremendous ways. Many of the impacts that are accocated with media are addressed in negative ways, but can be seen from a positive perspective as well. In the current generation, media and its influences can be found everywhere. These influences widely impact today’s adolescents and maturing teenagers because they are still developing into adults. Medias purpose is not only to inform us, but to allow us to mold ourselves in how we want to be perceived online. Also, it allows us easy access to unbelievable amounts of information. Living in an era known as the “information age” is riveting, but what are we suppose to do with all of this new technology and information?