How does the Internet Affect Young People?
How does the Internet Affect Young People?
There is a saying among the baby boomer generation, that if you want to learn how to use computers and the internet, go ask your grandchildren to teach you. An estimated 100% of all young people use computers with more than 90% regularly using the internet. Much of this internet use is tied to homework and websites needed to do research. However the internet is also the way most kids connect after school using social networks such as MySpace or Facebook. The kids communicate through chat rooms and emails, while also posting comments on their friends’ walls. Internet usage is so pervasive that many experts, scientists and psychologist have begun to study what effect it has on the lives of young people in general.
With so much social action taking place from behind a computer screen, adults and teachers are concerned about the loss of social skills among young people. In other words, the ability to communicate up close and personal with friends and family is becoming extinct. Young people simply don’t know how to hold a conversation. Take away a kid’s cell phone or computer and they tend to withdraw, don’t know what to do with their hands, become sullen. Hours in front of a computer on the internet also lends to the obesity problem plaguing America and the rest of the world. And a lack of exercise isn’t the only physical problem. Eyesight wanes after long hours in front of a computer screen. Bad posture, and body pain can develop from long hours spent sitting, not the least of which is bad circulation in the legs. Many young people who spend a great of time in front of computer are beginning to show symptoms of disease and illness not usually seen until someone reaches middle age or senior citizenship.
There are also many upsides to time spent in front of a computer. Young people today are able to log on and talk to their counterparts growing up in other parts of the world. The internet literally opens up the
There is a saying among the baby boomer generation, that if you want to learn how to use computers and the internet, go ask your grandchildren to teach you. An estimated 100% of all young people use computers with more than 90% regularly using the internet. Much of this internet use is tied to homework and websites needed to do research. However the internet is also the way most kids connect after school using social networks such as MySpace or Facebook. The kids communicate through chat rooms and emails, while also posting comments on their friends’ walls. Internet usage is so pervasive that many experts, scientists and psychologist have begun to study what effect it has on the lives of young people in general.
With so much social action taking place from behind a computer screen, adults and teachers are concerned about the loss of social skills among young people. In other words, the ability to communicate up close and personal with friends and family is becoming extinct. Young people simply don’t know how to hold a conversation. Take away a kid’s cell phone or computer and they tend to withdraw, don’t know what to do with their hands, become sullen. Hours in front of a computer on the internet also lends to the obesity problem plaguing America and the rest of the world. And a lack of exercise isn’t the only physical problem. Eyesight wanes after long hours in front of a computer screen. Bad posture, and body pain can develop from long hours spent sitting, not the least of which is bad circulation in the legs. Many young people who spend a great of time in front of computer are beginning to show symptoms of disease and illness not usually seen until someone reaches middle age or senior citizenship.
There are also many upsides to time spent in front of a computer. Young people today are able to log on and talk to their counterparts growing up in other parts of the world. The internet literally opens up the