Wading Through The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Online

By Bridie Rubino

The constant buzz of online websites such as MySpace, Xanga, and Facebook have taken over the media in recent years. Teens and preteens seem addicted to the melting pot of kids pouring out their most personal pictures and information on these world wide websites.

Although the majority of the media coverage toward these type of sites has been negative, kids find these to be ways of communication.

“I don’t go online to put pictures of myself with my shirt off, I do it to talk to old friends who I can now keep in touch with, or even find out what is going on this weekend. Kids just need to be smart about what they put out there,” said Matt Norris, a senior at Newtown High School.

The generation gap between those who grew up with the Internet as opposed to those who have not has caused a false impression of the benefits of online activity, according to many teens. Adults seem to have a misunderstanding of what these websites actually are like.

“Parents assume we’re all posting insinuating pictures of ourselves for everyone to see, when we’re actually just trying to talk to our friends,” said Katie Schmidt, an NHS junior.

These websites have generated publicity highlighting the deaths of kids who meet up with strangers they met online. Television shows are even devoted to the negative aspects of online usage, such as Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator” series.

The Connecticut General Assembly is even taking into consideration passing a bill stating that all minors must have parental consent to obtain accounts on any of these networking websites.

Networking websites do in fact allow for means of communication that generations before have never experienced. It is a matter of what limits and restrictions to place on these young teens and preteens, in order to prevent predators and others from abusing these potentially useful websites. Many parents check their children’s web pages frequently to make sure they are always putting out information that they are not fearful of any adult seeing.

“Kids need to realize that it’s not just your friends who can see these websites, but it is any person with a computer and an Internet connection,” said Nancy Anastasi, parent and resident of Newtown.

Some teens would like to have accounts on Facebook or MySpace, but are nervous of the outcome.

“I don’t do them. Not because they’re not cool or anything, but because I have heard too many horror stories about people not getting accepted to college or not getting a job because people are able to tap into every bit of information that you have ever put out there,” said Justin Carotti, a senior at Newtown High School.

It is a fact that schools, companies, and even fraternities and sororities do frequent checks on any of their employees, students, and peers to make sure that their online activity is safe as well as representing their company or school properly.

Although there are both negative and positive aspects of this online world that society lives in today, there will always be two sides to the story. Currently, there have been no advances made on the Connecticut General Assembly’s bill to obtain parental consent before a minor may use a networking website. Assembly members are still trying to find ways to go about ensuring parental consent from an online source, but as of right now, the General Assembly hopes to educate children of the dangers of online usage, and how to efficiently protect themselves.

(Bridie Rubino is a junior at Newtown High School who recently completed an internship with The Newtown Bee.)