Online Socializing: Safer Than you Think?
To many parents, Web sites like My Space and Facebook are a threat, a door open to the outside world that lets strangers into homes. But the benefits of online interaction might far outweigh the risks. A commentary in this month’s Journal of Adolescent Research notes that networking sites wage teens with opportunities to develop social and communication skills and to bridge interracial and ethnic divides. These benefits often are overlooked by parents worried that adult predators are lurking online.
“We might do adolescents a disservice when we curtail their participation in these spaces, because the educational and psychosocial benefits of this type of communication can far outweigh the potential dangers,’’ writes Brandesha Tynes, an educational psychologist at the University of Illinois who authored the commentary.
In her article “Internet Safety Gone Wild?,” Dr. Tynes recommends some parents might be going overboard.
While teens need to be warned about “digital dangers” like adult predators, parents also need to think about the benefits of spending time in online settings, she argues. These sites wage a chance to augment critical thinking and argumentation skills, she says. Online, children find support from peer groups, get help with homework and speak about sensitive issues they might be too humiliated or afraid to discuss face-to-face.
Discussions of race and ethnicity are common online, Dr. Tynes adds. In one study of open-topic chat rooms, race was mentioned in 38 of 39 discussions. At a time when schools are increasingly segregated, Dr. Tynes states educators might want to encourage online interactions as a alternative for interracial interactions that no longer occur in classrooms or hallways.
Tech-savvy teens already are aware that online socializing can generate unwelcome advances in cyberspace, she says. Parents should speak to children about privacy settings and how to deal with unwanted attention online.
While online social groups shouldn’t replace real-world socializing, Dr. Tynes claims that parents need to rethink its value. The World wide web might sometimes be a superior way for teens to prepare for the adult social world, because they can do it “in the country of their own homes.’’
Online Socializing: Safer Than you Think?
Alvaro Castillo has been writing about health and specializing pregnancy along with how to deal with the first year of their baby’s life for 10 years, helping women with positive results. For more information check out his website at http://www.myhomeparent.com or visit his blog http://myhomeparent.blogspot.com to share your opinion
