The Internet has revolutionized how people think about a lot of things. For teenagers, part of that is that you include your online friends as part of your circle of friends. While you may not send them invitations to your parties, you do make sure that they are kept in the loop. Videos are posted, links shared, photos uploaded for viewing: Your peers are no longer just the kids in your school but anyone that you know and that they know. Kids in America know kids in Russia, China, Singapore, Japan, and even Africa. This is something that most adults don't even realize has happened: They couldn't dream of writing a friend once a week, and yet teens maintain connections with people across the world on an hourly basis.
This has its good side and its bad side. The good side is that you are exposed to culture from a wide variety of sources, and not just anime. You get to see a lot of different versions of American Idol, as your friends post their favorites from their shows. You compete against other kids in online games, in FPS, MMORPGs, and even apps. Those relationships are a lot more real to you than are most of your classmates, and that's something that your parents don't seem to realize; they are too used to relationships requiring a physical aspect and you don't. You have strictly online relationships that are just as real to you as your real-life relationships; this gives you a different world-view than your parents.
The bad news is that means that a lot of what would have been private and not gone beyond a small circle of friends now has the potential to go worldwide. Simple mistakes in judgment that would have been quickly forgotten and safely locked up in a family picture album now have the possibility of being around for a long time. Look at how it went for Light Saber Kid; he is now a known quantity and that's going to be something that is going to be following him around for the rest of his life. There are revenge sites where you can post embarrassing pictures of your worst enemies, and some of those pictures go viral. This could be a problem.
You may need to take a page from the corporate handbook and have some form of agreement, however informal, to not post anything that is too embarrassing. You may need to practice a new Golden Rule: Don't post anything if it would embarrass you if someone else posted it. For some people this could be an actual problem, as they are willing to post anything, either because they find it funny to annoy people or because they believe in living a life anyone can examine. Obviously some sort of agreement needs to be developed to deal with those people so that everyone can still take pictures of what happened without having to worry too much about repercussions later on.
Every generation has new challenges to face as well starting with its own advantages. The Internet is both angel and devil of your generation, and as such it is up to you to figure out how to deal with it. All I can do is wish you the best of luck, and I hope you figure out how to deal with it, and soon.
This has its good side and its bad side. The good side is that you are exposed to culture from a wide variety of sources, and not just anime. You get to see a lot of different versions of American Idol, as your friends post their favorites from their shows. You compete against other kids in online games, in FPS, MMORPGs, and even apps. Those relationships are a lot more real to you than are most of your classmates, and that's something that your parents don't seem to realize; they are too used to relationships requiring a physical aspect and you don't. You have strictly online relationships that are just as real to you as your real-life relationships; this gives you a different world-view than your parents.
The bad news is that means that a lot of what would have been private and not gone beyond a small circle of friends now has the potential to go worldwide. Simple mistakes in judgment that would have been quickly forgotten and safely locked up in a family picture album now have the possibility of being around for a long time. Look at how it went for Light Saber Kid; he is now a known quantity and that's going to be something that is going to be following him around for the rest of his life. There are revenge sites where you can post embarrassing pictures of your worst enemies, and some of those pictures go viral. This could be a problem.
You may need to take a page from the corporate handbook and have some form of agreement, however informal, to not post anything that is too embarrassing. You may need to practice a new Golden Rule: Don't post anything if it would embarrass you if someone else posted it. For some people this could be an actual problem, as they are willing to post anything, either because they find it funny to annoy people or because they believe in living a life anyone can examine. Obviously some sort of agreement needs to be developed to deal with those people so that everyone can still take pictures of what happened without having to worry too much about repercussions later on.
Every generation has new challenges to face as well starting with its own advantages. The Internet is both angel and devil of your generation, and as such it is up to you to figure out how to deal with it. All I can do is wish you the best of luck, and I hope you figure out how to deal with it, and soon.
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