- Monday, 9 November 2009
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We have no lapscorchers in our organisation - Intel executive
The Internet is good for teens
MINDLESS TIME WASTING - that’s what most parents call surfing the web, playing games and chatting on social networks – yet a study of online use has revealed that these things are actually important elements in teenage development.
For the study, over 800 teenagers and parents were observed for over 5,000 hours as part of a three-year US project.
The report's author, Dr Mimi Ito said, "They are learning the technological skills and literacy needed for the contemporary world."
She continued to say that these things are good for teenage character development and help them learn how to communicate.
The study was sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation as part of a £31 million project on digital media and learning.
One of Dr Ito’s main points was that parents should be happy that their children are meeting up with friends online as opposed to hanging around on the streets.
The report also referred to behaviour it named "geeking out" which is the process of a teenager searching the web in order to find their own identity and become more creative.
"In one of my own case studies around fans of Japanese animations, some kids got involved in different video production groups or online discussion groups,” explained Dr Ito.
The report also highlights a distinct digital divide between those kids who have access to the web and those who don’t.
"The quality of access is what matters for some kids who have to just rely on the library and school to go online. It is often limited, has blocks put on access to certain sites and is only available when these institutions are open, " said Dr Ito.
Dr Ito also thinks that parents need to get more involved with what their children are doing online – instead of being ignorant to it and stopping access because of the dangers, they should familiarise themselves instead.
The MacArthur Foundation's education director, Connie Yowell said, "Learning today is becoming increasingly peer-based and networked, and this is important to consider as we begin to re-imagine education in the 21st century.” µ
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"Peer based learining! musbee y there riting loocks 4en? 

Isn't that the same as "The blind leading the blind?" Well, it's no worse or different from most schools now.
I think it's very important that parents know what their children are into. It is even more important that they get involved & try to see the positives as well as the negatives.

Don't let your opinion of the world be skewed by the mass media just because of a few well known stories. Remember, TV news tends to focus on the negative. What went wrong? who is to blame? what blew up etc...

Who would report that millions of teenagers & in fact people of all ages & walks of life are browsing online quite happily & nothing bad happened?

The internet is a tool, this can be used for many ends.

Every existing generation is shocked by the new generation in some ways. This is to be expected & is a sign of healthy growth & much needed change.

Teenagers are mostly busy changing & evolving, finding their way, try to help out, if you can.
Just like any social setting, the Net has the potential to be both good and bad for teens. How the Net is used defines the effect it has on most teens or adults.

You could hardly call live suicide online, a good point to promote the internet, or porn, identity theft, child solicitations, piracy, hacking, etc. all of which teens could be exposed to without proper supervision. Spending hours online instead of actually getting off one's arse and getting a real life, can be a major deterrent to healthy social growth.

So I wouldn't be so quick to call one study of 800 people a compelling, glowing endorsement of the Net for use by teenagers. A balanced supervised use of the Net would be far more useful than allowing yoof to waste away and develop bad habits.
parents are in denial
I think that the influence of mindless time-wasting has not been sufficiently studied.
I volunteer for more study on this subject.
I think a 5-year trial should bring a good comprehension of the subject, and will gladly submit myself to this worthy cause in exchange for food and shelter.