Frontline has an intresting segment regarding teens growing up on the internet. The one hour segment follows several teens and their interactions/relationships on the internet. Although most of the information was not new to me . . . it never failed to amaze me how many people are out of the loop with the internet and its evolution.
I am a quick and fast learner when it comes to adapting to situations on a computer so when instant messaging became popular, I was there. When having your own Facebook or MySpace account was the next trend . . . I followed along so I would not be lost. Then YouTube and the introduction of widgets on popular social networking sites became the norm . . . I had to play catch up to figure out what all the talk was about.
I am technologically savvy and even though I partake on these social networking websites, I do it from a pragmatic position as a consultant of the evolution of the internet within the last years. I just graduated from college about 1 year ago. 5 years before that I was graduating from high school, so it isn't that I am old or really out of the loop. But it sure seems like it.
When I was in high school there was no Facebook or MySpace. There was no YouTube and the only thing we had close to connecting to other people online was our AOL Instant Messenger accounts.
It is intresting to note how the four years that I was out of high school have changed high school life so dramaticaly. I use to sell "burnt" cd copies of the latest cd to classmates. Speaking of a CD is like bringing up ancient history and talking about dinosaurs in a generation who own iPods and sophisticated cell phones. My only connection to this new version of high school is a sister that will enter her senior year in high school. The insight I gain from her and her friends is priceless. Have you ever heard of a "text break"? That's a break you usually take after you have been mashing you fingers on your cell phones keypad as you SMS with 5 other individuals. Talk about an attention span . . . communicating with 5 people at the same time while scavenging YouTube for a funny video as you update your MySpace profile.
The Frontline episode is available to view for free via their website. I highly recommend it whether you think you know it all or not. Listening to the teens perspective and reasoning was worth it in itself. I wonder what the internet will be like as my generation enters parenthood in 20 years of their teens. Will MySpace and Facebook be around? If they are, wouldn't it be awkward when you get a notification indicating that your teen would like to be friends with you, their parent? I guess we will just have to wait until then.
