David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Dear Diary: Teens spill secrets in their Web logs
October 10, 2004
Gannett News Sevice/The Lafayette Daily Advertiser
West Bloomfield, Mich., high school sophomore Rachel Hines writes openly about a recent surgery, her “crazy” 89-year-old aunt, her swim teams’ meek athletic prowess and school being a drag.
Instead of spilling her secrets into the lined pages of a lock-and-key diary, Hines is one of millions of American teenagers turning to the Web, writing in online journals, Web logs, or simply blogs.
What began as a trend among techies has become commonplace for American teens who wrote their first sentences on keyboards, not paper. Their musings are available for anyone to see — including parents, teachers, friends and strangers.
But some are concerned that teens may not understand the negative consequences of disclosing details of their sex lives, families, drug use and relationships.
Some experts laud online journals because they get students to write and enable them to try out personalities and test boundaries in a virtual world they often find safer than the physical one.
Others say the proliferation of blogs is a natural extension of a generation raised on reality television, where the lines between what is and isn’t real, and what is and isn't private, have grown fuzzy.
Mixed reviews
Whether they contain musings about the change of seasons or fights at home, Web diaries get mixed opinions from educators.
For kids who love to write creatively, it’s a nice way to get feedback, says Mindy Nathan, a Bloomfield Hills teacher. “But I know some of them have felt really insulted and offended by what others have said about their writing.”
Web journals are a forum for students to try out new things and express themselves, says Yong Zhao, a professor of educational technology at Michigan State University in Lansing, Mich.
“Kids want to be socially accepted, and for kids who don’t have a real environment to express their personal feelings because they’re embarrassed, this is a way for them to do that,” he says.
Youngsters are drawn to blogs because they find them more interesting and creative than school, says Kevin Leander, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., who researches how young people use the Web.
Unintended consequences
While many teen blogs are filled with the day’s events, others are the equivalent of posting the school’s rumor mill online.
Teachers like Nathan worry that youngsters are too naive to make good decisions about what is acceptable to publish in blogs. And parents may be unaware of the existence of blogs, or may not read them.
“They talk about having sex, using drugs,” Nathan says. “I don’t think they’re savvy enough consumers of these Internet Web sites.”
Zhao believes schools should offer classes on the psychology of living with technology. “Some researchers believe people online do not have a sense of physical consequences,” he says. “They don’t feel like it’s real because the audience is not close to them. ... They feel like it’s anonymous.”
But there are real-life consequences, he says. For one thing, predators and pedophiles can track children down, he said.
The blogging trend comes at a time when perceptions of privacy have become blurred because of the cultural shift toward reality television, says Leander.
“There’s a constant self-surveillance both online and on TV,” he said. “We’re fascinated about it and at the same time, we're excited about how to maintain our privacy.”
Keeping watch
Parents, here are some tips for monitoring your children’s Web activity:
October 10, 2004
Gannett News Sevice/The Lafayette Daily Advertiser
West Bloomfield, Mich., high school sophomore Rachel Hines writes openly about a recent surgery, her “crazy” 89-year-old aunt, her swim teams’ meek athletic prowess and school being a drag.
Instead of spilling her secrets into the lined pages of a lock-and-key diary, Hines is one of millions of American teenagers turning to the Web, writing in online journals, Web logs, or simply blogs.
What began as a trend among techies has become commonplace for American teens who wrote their first sentences on keyboards, not paper. Their musings are available for anyone to see — including parents, teachers, friends and strangers.
But some are concerned that teens may not understand the negative consequences of disclosing details of their sex lives, families, drug use and relationships.
Some experts laud online journals because they get students to write and enable them to try out personalities and test boundaries in a virtual world they often find safer than the physical one.
Others say the proliferation of blogs is a natural extension of a generation raised on reality television, where the lines between what is and isn’t real, and what is and isn't private, have grown fuzzy.
Mixed reviews
Whether they contain musings about the change of seasons or fights at home, Web diaries get mixed opinions from educators.
For kids who love to write creatively, it’s a nice way to get feedback, says Mindy Nathan, a Bloomfield Hills teacher. “But I know some of them have felt really insulted and offended by what others have said about their writing.”
Web journals are a forum for students to try out new things and express themselves, says Yong Zhao, a professor of educational technology at Michigan State University in Lansing, Mich.
“Kids want to be socially accepted, and for kids who don’t have a real environment to express their personal feelings because they’re embarrassed, this is a way for them to do that,” he says.
Youngsters are drawn to blogs because they find them more interesting and creative than school, says Kevin Leander, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., who researches how young people use the Web.
Unintended consequences
While many teen blogs are filled with the day’s events, others are the equivalent of posting the school’s rumor mill online.
Teachers like Nathan worry that youngsters are too naive to make good decisions about what is acceptable to publish in blogs. And parents may be unaware of the existence of blogs, or may not read them.
“They talk about having sex, using drugs,” Nathan says. “I don’t think they’re savvy enough consumers of these Internet Web sites.”
Zhao believes schools should offer classes on the psychology of living with technology. “Some researchers believe people online do not have a sense of physical consequences,” he says. “They don’t feel like it’s real because the audience is not close to them. ... They feel like it’s anonymous.”
But there are real-life consequences, he says. For one thing, predators and pedophiles can track children down, he said.
The blogging trend comes at a time when perceptions of privacy have become blurred because of the cultural shift toward reality television, says Leander.
“There’s a constant self-surveillance both online and on TV,” he said. “We’re fascinated about it and at the same time, we're excited about how to maintain our privacy.”
Keeping watch
Parents, here are some tips for monitoring your children’s Web activity:
- Keep computers in a general access area, not in a child’s room. If you see a window is minimized when you come by, that should send up a red flag.
- Reading a child’s blog is a judgment call. Watch for mood changes, falling grades and then decide whether to check on your child’s use of blogs.
- Ask that children not use their real names or dates of birth as part of a screen name.
- Do not allow profiles, which often include information such as the child's name, age and address. Do not allow photos that can make it easier for pedophiles to identify your child.
- Know your child’s computer password.
- Some parents do not know enough about computers and should consider taking a class.
- Boost your child’s self-esteem. Pedophiles look for children who don't have a lot of self-esteem.
- Advise children to not respond to e-mail or instant messages or open attachments from people they don't know. [/list:u]
)
