Cyber Communication: Progress or Problem—What Kids Say

This year’s Optimist International Oratorical Competition for students focuses on the topic: Cyber Communication: Progress or Problem. After listening to many student speeches, these thoughts went through my mind. (1) Students, at least the ones participating in this competition, know the dangers of the Internet. (2) They know social networking sites have a minimum age, but they ignore it—it’s like it’s not there and doesn’t matter. (3) They realize cyber communication is here to stay and say people should get used to it and learn how to use it correctly. (4) They have no idea what to do about the problem of cyberbullies, but they know that it happens and feel for those who have been victims. (5) Although they text and video chat mostly, and still use email and instant messaging, many love to get written letters—one speaker even wrote an obituary of a love letter and then recited from one of Abigail Adam’s letters to John.  (6) They can’t imagine carrying a dictionary around or having to look words up in a dictionary. (7) It’s foreign to them not to be able to type their essays into the computer. “I couldn’t just sit down and write my stories on paper,” one commented. (8) They see cell phones as a necessary part of their lives, but they do not think parents should give cell phones to young children. (9) They are not sure about the option of technology to locate where they are. “That’s scary,” according to some. Others thought it could be useful for parents but noted that parents might purchase a cell phone for young children for this reason and not realize the other dangers present in cell phone options. (10) They see that cyber communication can be a powerful force for good in our world even though they realize that everyone doesn’t use it as they should—one speaker said, “You’ve got to remember that everyone isn’t nice.” Another said, “Alexander Graham Bell didn’t invent the telephone so that people could make crank calls or threatening calls. We must step forward with the technologies we have today thinking how we can help our world.”

 

Teens & Their Secret Digital Lives

Prevention Magazine (April '08) published The Secret Life of Teens and a number of other articles (Secret Life of Teens by Rich, Secret Life of Teens: Clubbing by Cuomo) and books (The Secret Life of Teens by Patnaik and Shinseki) have targeted this topic as well. Those writing about teens cover topics such as alcohol and drug abuse, teens' lives, hopes and dreams; teens' nightlife; and how to help teens survive these often exciting and dangerous years. It's evident that teens look to online communities and digital communication for interaction. Going to FaceBook, for example, helps them get away from the adults in their lives. In an online community they can share their secrets, which often aren't secrets for long. It's their world, and probably many of us ex-teens would have liked to have that world available at times when we were teens. But it's also a world that can become addictive. Aside from the possibility of online dangers, there's the danger that teens are so drawn to digital communities that they go there instead of interacting with those around them. It's not just online communities that are keeping our students from being part of the real world. Katie Baldo, the guidance counselor quoted in the Prevention piece warns that kids, because of being wired to their digital connections, aren't getting the practice they need with non-digital social interaction. She recommends that use of technologies such as cellphones, MP3 players, and video games be limited to one-hour on weekdays and two-hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Of course, teens and even pre-teens would say that this digital world is an important part of their real world.