Talking Points

I. What I understand:

After reading these articles about you tube and facebook etc. I feel that the real issue lies with the “adults”. A couple of these articles described these websites as “youth” or “teen” sites that “adults” are not in tune with. The adults in the world are scared by what they do not understand. The way teens act today is not the way that adults acted so therefore it must be bad. It was very interesting to read this same opinion in Danah Boyd’s piece "Identity Production in a Networked Culture: Why Youth Heart MySpace". Boyd states that “Moral panics are a common reaction to teenagers when they engage in practices not understood by adult culture. There were moral panics over rock&roll, television, jazz and even reading novels in the early 1800s [1]. The media, typically run by the parent generation, capitalizes on and spreads the fear with little regard for data or actual implications. Examples are made out of delinquent youth, showing how the object of fear ruined them in some way or other. The message is clear - if you don't protect your kids from this evil, they too will suffer great harm to their minds, bodies or morals.”
I do honestly feel that a lot of what is done on these websites is just innocent fun. There are always going to be people that take advantage of the situation and ruin a good thing. This has happened on MySpace with bullies and things of that nature. But what is frustrating is that this does not only happen with teens. There are plenty of “adult” situations where someone has ruined a good thing. As Hines states “are teenagers necessary.”

II. What I do not understand:

Although many of these articles defend these websites, it is frustrating that no one is trying to come up with a solution to end things such as virtual bullying. I would think with all this thought about defending and prosecuting people would take more action.

III. Questions:

1. Are there ways we could stop cyber bullying or is that even more of an invasion of privacy?
2. Should schools be taking information posted by students into account?