Teenagers And Teen Internet Safety

We share our feelings, exact locations, and activities so easily through means of social media. These types of posts generally give away too much personal information which can further result in safety issues. Privacy isn’t such a big deal for teenagers now. They don’t realize the implications that comes with posting all of their life details.. This is where privacy needs to be of greater demand to keep children’s lives and secrets safe.

Today’s teens mental and physical health has declined in recent years due to internet use. A study conducted by Pew Research Center in 2015 found that 92% of teens go online daily and 24% of them almost constantly. This amount of internet usage results

If people posting something online, it won’t be secrets anymore; not only your parents can read them, but also other strangers can read them, too. For teenagers, in order to against with parents, they will discover other ways to use the Internet. For instance, children may use some watchwords to talk. In addition, once teenagers notice that there is a spyware on the computer, they won’t trust their parents anymore. Once the trust between children and parents disappear, everything will become tough.

32% of online teens say they have been targets of a range of annoying or potentially menacing online activities. 15% of teens say someone has forwarded or posted a private message they’ve written, 13% say someone has spread a rumor about them online, 13% say someone has sent them a threatening or aggressive message, and 6% say someone has posted embarrassing pictures of them online. 66% of teens who have witnessed online cruelty have also witnessed others joining; 21% say they have also joined in the harassment (Statistics).

Parents watch their children before they get themselves in trouble. On the other hand, children don’t deserve to be watched and questioned after every interaction on the internet. The uses of the internet for teens involve following celebrities or people they look up to. They mostly follow people they know. If not, they follow people who have the same interests as them.

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.

Aided by the convenience of smartphones, tablets, and computers, the Pew Research Center has found that 92% of teens are online daily, with open access to harmful material that can affect developing minds permanently, and set up habits that can damage their potential for success in the future. An even more shocking 24% of teens say that they are online “almost constantly.” As a tenth grader in Carolina Day’s upper school, I’ve witnessed the daily activities of students who confirm these statistics. To them, navigating the internet is second nature, and that is where the real danger lies. While at school, they are still granted connection to every game, social media site, and free essay resource, without limits. Unrestricted and unlimited access to the internet is negatively impacting Carolina Day School’s environment by affecting interpersonal relationships, stunting the positive development of the brain, and decreasing the chance of students gaining critical life skills.

Many modern parents/ guardians are starting to be concerned and wonder whether their teens have a problem and if there is a way to help them, who can they start too. If he/she cannot pull himself/herself away from the internet, and transition to another activity like sports or any type of outdoor activity/activities.

In the first instance, some will say teens don't comprehend that the Internet doesn’t keep secrets. In Harlan Coben’s article, “The Undercover Parent,” (2008), Coben states , “Second, everything your child types can already be seen by the world- teachers, potential employers, friends, neighbors, future dates. Shouldn’t he [your child] learn now that the Internet is not a haven of privacy?” (Coben, par. 9). People use pseudonym after pseudonym on the Internet, and really, if something is going to be found, it’ll be found and if it’s worth protecting , they’ll hide it. Coben also states, “... a computer is a little key locked diary. But posting thoughts on the Internet isn’t the same thing as hiding them under your mattress.” (Coben, par. 10). Essentially with today’s technology, the Internet is like a little key locked diary. There are so many passwords and fail safes and programs designed to protect yourself, that if you only want a few people to see something only a few people will see it. And if someone sees something they weren’t meant to see and they have a problem with it, then they have to deal with it, as long as it’s not illegal or violates society's basic human principles, then it’s fine. Some will say you can’t trust your kids to be safe, “... that if you are

believes the rules and boundaries parents set for their children when they get their first cell phone might be helpful in heading off any addictions later on.” (Kelly Wallace, CNN). In addition, I can say that rules regarding usage of the electronic devices are truly required, because teens are diving into an imaginary world, and they forget about the real values: family, love, joy. Internet can’t supply these goods and people should begin to understand this risk of wasting the

The second reason why technology is a bad influence on teenagers is that it takes up all of their free time. Today’s teens spend more than 7 1 / 2 hours a day consuming media — watching TV, listening to music, surfing the Web, social networking, and playing video games, according to a 2010 study of 8- to 18-year-olds conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Teenagers feel that if they aren’t doing anything, they should be on their phones. It doesn’t even have to be that they aren’t doing anything, just the temptation of the phone can be enough for them to be on it. I see people all the time with their friends, and they still feel the need to be on their phones when they should be talking with their friends.

Internet safety has been an extensive issue for children and adolescents since accuse to the Internet has become readily available in homes. With Internet use increasing at such rapid rates and a large proportion of adolescents using the Internet daily, the awareness of Internet safety should be addressed. The term Internet safety can be defined as “the knowledge of maximizing an individuals safety to private information, and self protection from using the Internet”. The impact and influence that the Internet has on adolescent life is far-reaching and research findings by Norris (2007) indicate that one-quarter of the American youth that go online at home, do so in the privacy of their rooms. Additionally, with the recent trend of wireless connections there has been a profound expansion in private Internet usage. The diverse means by which adolescents are using the Internet has become coupled with inherent risks of unsupervised and uneducated use.

Facebook, twitter and instagram are all methods used to share your life with others. You’re able to post pictures and type statuses to inform your friends, followers, etc., what you have been up to and how you have been living your life. Adults usually post pictures and statuses focusing on their family, trips and special events in their lives, while the younger generation takes social media a lot more serious. Every moment of their lives are put out there for the world to see, sometimes without the realization. Teenagers on social media are always trying to impress and one up each other. They sometimes post inappropriate material to try to look as cool as possible without realizing that ultimately employers, teachers, parents, law enforcement and strangers all have the ability to see. The problem is once something is on the internet it is there forever, and if caught you can find yourself in major trouble.

Relevance Statement: Most teens nowadays use the Internet; the usage varies according to each person, but I know that everyone in here is familiar with it.

First of all, social networking is dangerous for children, teens, and adults. To be specific, in stating the dangers for teens, (Allen) states, “ But in other cases, disclosure reaches a level that is troubling for parents and those concerned about the safety of online teens, and once children put this information online, they will never get it back”. This quote explains that teens will put their personal information on social media and once they put this information online, it will always be there. The information can always be found and brought back up. This is causing parents to be worried for their children because sometimes this can mean that teens will put their location online. There is also a way that apps can track individuals if they