The PBS Documentary “Growing up Online” brings up some very
important matters that are becoming a significant issue in our society today.
Throughout time media has grown to become the primary source of information
consumed by the world today. The use of technology is growing more prevalent in
the teenage population with users as young as 4 years old. “Growing up Online”
explores the relationship of technology in comparison with American teenagers. This documentary is very informative for
parents as well as their children. In
this film, we can see that the filmmakers are biased against teenagers and
their usage of the internet. They examine how teenagers are living out parts of
their lives online and the challenges they face while doing so. The filmmakers
show evidence of negative online post by teens by showing videos of fights and
clashes among high-schoolers , as well as subjects that deal with anorexia,
bullying and suicide. The age of technology has clearly become more advanced
for teenagers. It has become a place where teens can escape and have their own
privacy even in their own homes. With the internet a person can have a whole
new persona, where no one has to know who they really are. Social media sites
such as myspace, facebook, instagram, and twitter makes it easier for people to
expose themselves in any way they choose to. This creates the opportunity for
more real life situations to extend to the internet. For example: Erica Hill is
a woman who has become victim to online stalking. Her stalker was able to
retrieve her pictures through a social media site and repost them with malicious
comments. In this world today, technology makes personal information easily accessible by anyone. The widespread of social media sites have made it easier for people to share pictures, ideas, and news online. This does not help the many issues that teenagers go through today, such as bullying and anorexia. Bullying is not only a physical action, bullying can also be done online. Social media sites such as facebook and instagram allows the users to post pictures, request friends, and share comments about their daily life through the use of a newsfeed. Under a newsfeed many people are able to see what goes on in a users daily life by the pictures he/she has post. In the issue of bullying, sometimes there are incidents where people post malicious and offensive comments under ones photo. There are other times where a person has had his/her secret life exposed on the web by a person who is out to ruin their reputation. "Growing up Online" actively shows demonstrations of people who go through these type of situations daily. The documentary does a great job at informing parents and children of the hazards of the internet. The rise of new technology cannot be stopped and it can barely be controlled. Social networking sites and the media is at the fingertips of every cell phone, tablet , and personal computer. It is up to the user to either control it or be controlled by it.
