One of the more interesting debates for me was "Is Internet Addiction a concern for teenagers? I went into this debate thinking all the debaters would blame the kids and say that our generation is messed up; that was not the case.
Danah Boyd talked about how most kids use the internet to escape from "real life" she even used herself as an example. She talked about how on the internet she "wanted to go virtual, for my body to not matter, to live in a digital-only world". On the internet most kids don't feel judged because there is always something that you will be able to relate to, that's why some kids spend so much time on the internet. She also brought up another interesting point when she talked about how if society freed up more of our time by giving us less homework and test it would allow us to have more joy instead of stress. In her last point she stated that children should be allowed to roam. Children crave interaction with their peers that they turn to technology for it. Some parents are so scared that something bad will happen to them because of all the terrible stories you hear everyday that they keep them inside where they are safe.
Personally I thought that Danah Boyd made very good points, but for me I don't turn to the internet to escape from anything. To me the internet is somewhere to see something funny or meet new people. Although I understand that's not the case for everyone.
What is the internet to you? Is it a place to escape? Or is it just somewhere to get a laugh and meet others?
- Nadia Delgado
I really enjoyed your article and your opinion. And yes, the internet is a great place to escape for me, too. But despite that, the internet (mostly social media) has actually caused terrible emotions. I struggle with comparing myself to others. Constantly seeing what others are doing, and thinking they are better than me. Yes, social media has been an outlet to meet people, and keep in touch. But it also makes, me and the other teens, always attached to my phone.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say that social causes terrible emotions because I too have compared myself to others and thinking they look better or have a better life.
DeleteI understand how sometimes people can use the internet as a place where they can escape to so that they wont be judged based on their physical appearance and can just make friends based on common interests, but sometimes people can take advantage of this. Sometimes people can use the internet as a mask so that they can be mean to others, and that can get dangerous because people feel invincible when they are just sitting behind a silver screen.
ReplyDelete-Julissa Martinez
Very good point because when you talked about people using social media to harm others that's a constantly occurring problem. They enjoy putting down others which I don't see the point of like if you don't like who you are then change, but don't bring others down with because you never know what's going on in their life.
DeleteI can totally relate to why you use the internet, many of us love to laugh and to look at funny videos online. I also agree with Boyd's argument that social media is a place where we can meet and talk to new people and to also communicate with our friends. However, this is just one aspect of social media. Social media is also full of negativity, and can cause people to feel down about themselves.
ReplyDeletePersonally, social media falls into both categories for me. A lot of times I am scrolling through Instagram laughing at funny videos, texting my friends in a group chat, or even laughing with a friend on a video chat. Although, there are also times when I am comparing the way I look in a picture I posted to somebody else's post, reading negative comments people say about others, or even feeling a need to share certain aspects of my life on social media. Because of this, I don't believe social media is necessarily always healthy for some of our mental health, but it's such a part of so many of our lives that it becomes hard to stay away from it.