Teens Can Be Cooler Online

Online networking sites offer teens a place to post videos, music, images, comments, thoughts, and wallpaper in any form they want. They can express whatever they want to whomever they want. They can invite people into their “home,” and limit who enters their “home.” They present themselves as they want to be presented. They form groups, develop a base of friends, and find things in common with complete strangers. >> Article continued…

Your Teen and the Internet

Do you remember the old Star Trek television shows and those futuristic gadgets they used to communicate with each other? It seemed so far-fetched at the time, but today it is mostly a reality and deeply ingrained in our culture, especially among teenagers. My concern is that while teens have more ways to communicate than ever before, they are increasingly failing to “connect” in their relationships. Relationships become more shallow than they could have been if more time were spent sharing thoughts and ideas, and having discussion face-to-face. >> Article continued…

The Internet, Teens and Privacy

In today’s news it was reported by North Carolina’s Attorney General Roy Cooper that MySpace, the web’s most popular website for teenagers, is also actively used by at least 29,000 registered sex offenders. My guess is that they aren’t on MySpace to share recipes or to discuss politics.

I don’t have to spin tales about how things in the modern world are far different from when we were teenagers; we already know they are. But what some parents don’t know is how to effectively balance their teen’s privacy and protection. Do you have a tough time balancing “need to know” with providing your teen “some private space?” >> Article continued…