The Internet Helps Teenagers Communicate Abstract The internet is good way for teenagers to communicate with each other and helps them to do better in school and with their writing abilities. It allows them to express themselves openly and learn about new ideas that they would otherwise have no access to. Social media such as Myspace and Facebook are a great way for teenagers to talk with their peers and keep in contact with friends and family. They would lose touch with these people without the social media.
The Internet Helps Teenagers CommunicateThe internet gives teenagers an open forum and endless supply of information. They are able to write blogs, or make a website about something that interests them. They are writing now more than ever because of the internet.
This is helping them to become better at communicating and writing. Teenagers also keep up-to-date with technology which is good for their future in college and their career. There are so many things that must be done online now that it is crucial to have excellent skills using the internet. Amy Goldwasser states in What’s the Matter with Kids Today? hat the “internet is only a means of communication and one that has created a generation, perhaps the first, of writers, activists, and storytellers”(Goldwasser, Amy, 2009, p. 237).
The teenagers are using the internet as a means for communication and it is helping to develop them into great writers. Social Media Social media such as Facebook and MySpace allow the teens to communicate with each other through an online network. Communicating this way allows teens to stay in touch with friends and family members that they otherwise would not have contact.
They can talk to their friends they met at camp or a distance cousin from the other side of the country. The social media helps them to have a large network of friends. They are “learning how to get along with others, how to manage a public identity, how to create a homepage” (Lewin, Tamar, 2008). This would be almost impossible to do before the internet. The internet helps them network and keep in touch with a large base of friends. Blogging Blogging is like the journal or diary of the 21st century. It allows the teenagers to express themselves and write about whatever topic they are interested in.
It could be their day to day activities or they might write about sports or a school activity. Teenagers write more with the availability of blogs. They can share information that they feel is relevant and share it with their friends. This helps them to become better writers. Teenagers seem to use more proper grammar in their blogs than they would while using instant messaging or texting. Internet Prepares Teenagers for Success The internet helps prepare the teenagers for success in college and the work force.The skills they develop by using the internet such as writing, multitasking, using current technology, and networking are all useful skills. The teenagers have access to an unlimited amount of information.
They might not know everything but they do know how to find the information. The average teenager spends “16. 7 hours a week reading and writing online” (Goldwasser, Amy, 2009, p.
239). This time could be wasted playing video games, watching television, or causing trouble. The internet allows teenagers to spend their time reading, and writing.They are voluntarily spending their time usefully even if they don’t realize that what they are doing is developing valuable skills for themselves. Face to Face Teenagers do spend a lot of time socializing and communicating online.
There needs to be a balance between online time and actually spending time communicating in person. The people skills that are developed by interacting in person could be lost by excessive use of the internet. A teenager could be skilled in online communication, but have no face to face skills when dealing with people.It is easy to hide behind the internet and express your opinions, but they also need to be able to communicate face to face. Conclusion The internet is a helpful tool to teach teenagers to communicate. If it is used in the right ways it can teach some of the necessary skills to succeed in college and the workforce. Teenagers could be spending their time doing less valuable things. Social media such as Facebook and MySpace are great ways to interact with friends and family that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to communicate with as frequently.
Blogging is good to develop writing skills and express themselves. The internet will help improve the teenagers’ communication skills and allow them to be ready for the next step in their lives. References Goldwasser, Amy. (2009). What’s the Matter with Kids Today? In Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, Russel Durst (Ed. ), They Say, I Say (pp. 236-240).
New York, New York: W. W. Norton & Company Lewin, Tamar. (2008, November 20). Teenagers’ Internet Socializing Not a Bad Thing. The New York Times Online.
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