Video: Growing Up Online

The video, Growing Up Online, was very informative and brought my attention to some important issues concerning computers, online websites, and teenagers' addiction to this type of technology. Social networking has its benefits and also has its downfalls. For example "Autumn" was someone that used social networking to make her feel better about herself. She was a totally different person online than she was in "real life". But the little boy who killed himself used social networking as a sounding board for how to do it and what other people thought about it. The thing that stuck out to me the most was the parent’s involvement in their children’s life. Some were very involved and some were not. I have a hard time blaming websites for bullying and other things that happen when parents have no idea what is happening when their child is online. I think it is 100% the parent’s responsibility to be aware of what is happening when their child is online. The mother that was president of the PTA was involved in her children's life. She kept a tab on everything that went on on the computer. She didn't allow her children to use the computer outside to the kitchen. Her son got very angry with his mother because she had told on his classmates. This mother is the one of the reasons her children were doing well in school and didn't get into trouble online. Some people might say that she is too much, but I think that she is an excellent mother that loves her children very much. On the other hand the parents of the girl who had an eating disorder didn't even know she had one. She communicated about this disorder online and her parents didn't keep tabs on what she was doing on her computer.
Overall the video was very informative and opened my eyes to issues I had no idea about nor have ever thought about.