In this short article by Camille Sweeney, she talks about her experience posing as a teenager in different types of chat rooms, in her quest to determine whether there is such a thing as a cyberself, and if so, what goes into the making of those personalities. Sweeney details some of the conversations that she had with a couple teenagers and she talks about how she constantly had to remind herself that she had to "talk their language" and act "cool" but not "very cool."
In Sweeney's introduction she talks about how in 1999 70% of all teenagers spent time online and in chat rooms where they were able to socialize with and develop relationships with other teenagers. At the end of her article she talks about the effects of the Internet, in saying, "...you get something else, something no other generation ever had: the ability to leave your teen-age body behind and take advantage of the almost limitless freedom to explore your personal identity." Sweeney never really stated whether she thought this was good or bad, so my question is, is the free roam of the Internet good for teenagers? especially when there is no way to regulate who they are talking to and the subject matter they are discussing?
Sweeney offers up a few good question in the introduction of her article, does technology of the Internet influence the way teens understand who they are and how they relate to others? Do chat rooms change how teens establish their identities? And does a teens online identity differ from his or her "real-life" identity?
I personally believe that chat rooms encourage children to change how they would otherwise act because they have pressure from their peers to act more adult-like in the ways they represent themselves and the topics that are discussed, which are many times sexual in nature. I think for most teens their online identity is different from their "real-life" identity because in online environments people only know the person by a screen name and therefore a person is able to be whoever they would like in that environment without any consequence that they could potentially experience if they were to act the same way in real life.
This is how I feel. What are your thoughts on this article and to some of the questions asked by Sweeney?
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11 comments:
I have mixed feelings about chat rooms and teens. In some ways I think they are fine, it gives teens a chance to express themselves, hopefully talk to kids their same age, and get a different opinion and questions answered by several others who might actually have gone through the same thing. On the other hand I think they are very scary. If you saw the Dateline Special "To Catch A Predator", there were older men talking to "teens" who said they were 13, 14, 15, etc and actually came to meet them. I think for me when it comes down to it I don't think chatrooms are good for teens. I think there are too many sick people out there who take advantage of the fact that on the internet you can be anyone you want to be. A 13 year old who just wants to grow up can become 18 or a 40 year old pervert can become 16 year old. Therefore, I don't think it is good for teens or anyone really to have the freedom to roam the internet.
As far as chatrooms go with a person's identity like I said before, on the internet you can be anyone you want. Therefore I believe that almost everyone's online identity is somewhat or completly different than their "real life" identity. Being online and in a chat room is almost like a fantasy world where you can be and do anything you want so why not? Chatrooms and other forms of online communities give people the oppurtunities to be who they have always wanted to be. Is that good? I dont know.
Theoretically, you can go online and “be” a totally new person. But this is the thing: It is still YOU who is typing the words. I think about how teachers always say they are able to read a “voice” in their students’ writing and without looking at the name, know who the author is. You can always lie about your age and what you do, but it seems like the fundamental person lies unmistakably underneath.
That being said, I think the old saying “everything in moderation” applies in the case of online chatting. If you find yourself claiming your number one means of communication and socialization is through chat rooms, you might need to consider playing outside with the other children. This method of conversing is okay for brief conversations with people you know or maybe even meeting a new friend from school or something, but I do not believe this to be a solid way to get to know or to further an existing relationship. It may even harm our existing ability to socialize with others if we spend a lot of time online, and thus hurt our existence as happily social beings.
I liked Sweeney's article because it brought up some good points. For one, I don't think online chat rooms are a good thing for teens. When I was in middle school I had a friend come over my house and we were on my screen name. While I left the room she entered some chat rooms and started talking to people and made friends with this man. Well he ended up trying to contact me and my parents freaked out on me and I didn't appreciate it. Nothing good came out of it and I don't think chat rooms are good for teens. At that age they are very vulnerable to other peoples' actions and give in to pressure easier. They are also under the pressures of growing up and "fitting in" and I think chat rooms contribute to their lifestyles in negative ways.
I liked the way Sweeney portrayed herself as a teen and used that as valid information about her points. Although she seemed more against it than for it, it made her points seem more realistic.
I understand Sweeney's perspective of the chatrooms enabling a person to explore their identity and try on new identities. I think this is an amazing tool for someone around 16 years old. By that age, people have can comprehend how easy it is to lie and manipulate online. They know that other people may not be who they say they are and the teenager understands there are dangers. People younger than 16 can no comprehend this. They may say outloud that people lie online but they dont seriously consider the risks of meeting someone in real life that they only know through online because they don't have hypothetical and analytical reasoning skills yet. I believe if you are mature enough, wanting to explore other identities through portrayl online is ok. But only if you are mature enough.
Online identities often differ from real life identities I think. People can portray whatever aspects they like about themselves online while hiding all other aspects. This creates a different identity. I don't think chatrooms helps teenagers establish their identity since the real world identity is usually different than the one they make online
I thought this article by Sweeney was alittle odd. Does anyone else find it at all creepy that she is doing this? It doesn't appear that she is actually conducting research, but rather just testing out the waters in a place she is relatively unfamiliar with. I think she starts off the article strongly by explaining that teenagers are constantly trying out new personas hoping one fits them right. I agree that online environments allow teenagers and adults the chance to create a new personas if they'd like.I laughed when she mentioned that all the screen names in chat rooms were borderline porographic because all I could think of was Dateline's to catch a predictor series. Most of this article focuses on her uncomfortableness in the chatrooms and not enough on the idea that people can be anyone inside them. I think chatrooms can also allow people to be themselves and have meaningful conversations with friends or family members. It makes me sad that people are making cybering the main theme, and even scarier is that there are creepos who are old (sweeney) getting online and trying to talk to young kids.
This Sweeney article was really interesting to me. I have messed around on AOL in the past but I had no idea the popularity of chat rooms within that age demographic. The assertion of the article that kids develop their selves seems very plausible to me. I believe that cyberinteration can, in moderation, substitute for certain aspects of in-person social interaction. People may say that it's harmful due to content, or simply that this medium for communication is antisocial, but if kids are exercising their ability to formulate opinions for discussion the whole thing can be nothing but positive.
But, as people have been saying this whole time, moderation is an important factor in the whole equation. There are always going to be those individuals who invest way too much time into internet activities, let alone any activities, and that's always bad.
I really liked this article. It was interesting to see the point of view from someone in an older generation. When she explained how she had to change her speach patterns and vocab, it kinda put her point of view in perspective. Its not something our generation has to think about, because to us its normal. Perhaps this is why a large portion of older generations dont use the internet; it is so overwhelmed with our termonology and our interest, that an older person would read it as a forgein language. On a different note, i dont have alot of experience with chat rooms, manely because i choose to. I dont really like the idea that i have no clue who im talking to
In general, I don't think chatrooms are good for teens (at least the chatrooms discussed in Sweeny's article). I see no problem with chatrooms about movies, music, pop culture, (appropriate) video games, or educational topics aimed at teenagers. But as far as romance, teen dating, and adult topics I think it's ridiculous. Without trying to sounds like an "adult," I think the internet (even though it can be used for good) is making kids grow up much faster than they should. I understand that they are looking for answers about dating and sex, but those are things you're supposed to learn from your parents...not from random other teenagers (as far as you know...they could be 47) that they don't even know.
I did find the article interesting, and a little disturbing. If it's that easy for a writer to act like that and blend in in those on-line situations, think how easy it is for a pervert to do it. SOmething else I find interesting is Sweeny's numerous mentions about posts claiming that the teenagers are "bored." It bothers me to think that because teens are bored, they go around dating forums and give others advice. It just seems like a pool of useless information.
I understand trying on different "selves" in the cyber reality...but it seems that most of the selves lead to cybering, or text-based virtual sex. If teens are looking to find different selves, why not just change the way they dress and the way they act and see how their schoolmates respond. If I learned anything as a kid, it's that no one is more honest than your enemies. I know teens are insecure, but are they so insecure that they're looking for advic from total strangers?
I know this kinda went off-topic, but the issue seemed to be more important than the actual article to me.
I was never allowed in chatrooms, because my parents knew what went on in them. I might have gone against my parents orders a few times, only to find that every 3 seconds someone pasted their home made porn site about 300 times. I don't think chat rooms provide any real good to kids today.. All they teach them is shorter ways to type words that wouldn't take long to type in the first place. I thnk dat no1 shld use ch@ rooms. They are worthless.
I think being able to chat online can be good and bad for kids. They definitely need to watch out for predators. Additiionally, I think the whole cyber sex thing is kinda scary. I dont really think that younger kids should be exposed to that, but then I guess kids are doing that kinda stuff younger and younger anways. I do think that it can bo good. Especially for kids who feel that they are not accepted by their peers in school. Online they can make friends easily and not be judged by their appearance or whatever. However, I do think that younger people need to have a social life personally or in real life because you can't hide behind a computer monitor for your entire life.
The internet can be a dangerous place for naïve children. There are parental controls out there that allow parents to regulate what their children can do. However, I don’t know if that is enough. What happens when your child uses someone else’s computer?
In a chat room, children may conform to the identity of others. Yet they may also find their own true identity as they express what they want to say.
There is “limitless freedom to explore your personal identity” through the iternet.
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