Potential Benefits of Teenage Internet Use – Surprising Research Results
November 20th, 2008 |
A GoodTherapy.org News Update Presented by Daniel Brezenoff, LCSW
A new study by the MacArthur Foundation contains good news for stressed parents: the Internet, as used by teenagers, does not appear to be as dangerous a place as conventionally assumed in most cases, and may in fact have benefits.
“It may look as though kids are wasting a lot of time hanging out with new media, whether it’s on MySpace or sending instant messages,” said Mizuko Ito, lead researcher on the study. “But their participation is giving them the technological skills and literacy…They’re learning how to get along with others, how to manage a public identity…”
The study began in 2005 and ended this summer, and describes new-media usage but does not measure its effects. However, based on the patterns discovered by the study, enhancement of teen happiness and productivity appears more likely than, for example, sexual predation or exposure to destructive influences.
Vicki Rideout, vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation told the NY TIMES, “Ethnographic studies like this are good at describing how young people fit social media into their lives. This highlights the need for larger, nationally representative studies.”
Ito, a researcher at the University of California, Irvine, said that some parental concerns “about predators and stranger danger have been overblown. There’s been some confusion about what kids are actually doing online. Mostly, they’re socializing with their friends…”
The study was part of a $50 million project on digital and media learning. More than 800 young people were observed online for more than 5,000 hours. Many restrictions on computer use were reported, but teens usually found ways to communicate with friends despite the rules, often spending time on sites when they weren’t supposed to. “Teens usually have a ‘full-time intimate community’ with whom they communicate in an always-on mode via mobile phones and instant messaging,” the study said.
What they didn’t generally do is view sites that were entirely prohibited or inappropriate.
Online socializing was the most common activity, but many young people spent time looking for information online, customizing games or experimenting with digital media production.
“New media allow for a degree of freedom and autonomy for youth that is less apparent in a classroom setting,” the study said. “Youth respect one another’s authority online, and they are often more motivated to learn from peers than from adults.”
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18 comments so far
It’s great to hear some good news about kids and computers. There are many teenagers I know that seem like they are on the computer 24/7 and often wonder how healthy that was and if they are just wasting their time. thanks for the article
I have a son who spends an extremely amount of time on the computer and I sometimes wonder if maybe we, as parents, should make him get out more with us. Every time I walk in, It’s legit.. He’s either on this online game (all the time), Myspace or customizing his page on Myspace. Glad to hear that something good is coming from being on computer thru the statistics
This is quite different from what we have been hearing with kids and computers and spending a lot of time. I always hear that kids spend too much time either watching tv or playing on computer. Well now , I guess we have studies that show that kids and computers are not all that bad anymore.
I agree that kids will find a way to communicate with friends one way or another whether at school, phone or computer. What’s the harm with teenagers chatting with each other as long as the parents monitors who they are actually talking too. Some teenagers will get an attitude when parents check on them, but it’s better to keep your kids safe then not care who your kids have as friends and are chatting with.
Finally- some good news about our kids and the things that they are doing! I have to admit that my own son spends a good bit of his free time on Facebook but his dad and I monitor everything pretty closely and quite frankly we have never noticed anything inappropriate that he has been involved with while on the site. Sometimes I think that parents and the media get hung up on the wrong things. Sure there is potential for danger there just like with anything else but so much of preventing that is getting to know your own child and talking to him or her about the things that most concern you. You cannot shield them from everything- the best we can do is try to teach them to be responsible and hope that most of what you teach them will sink in.
I agree with you Kelly K. These social networks that kids are on, there is always danger, but we do need to monitor our kids and keep them safe. We Can’t always watch them 24 hours a day, but as long as they are communicating with friends online, and they are not doing anything wrong, we shouldn’t ban them from the internet. We do need to remind them that to not talk to or get involved with anyone they don’t know online.
Please don’t let my kids see this! They are already either on the computer or on their phones all of the time- this will only add more fuel to the fire! I know that these are the places where many of them feel the most comfortable but it makes me so darn irritable to feel like I have to schedule face time with my own kids. We really do have to set some limits because who knows how long they would chat and text if I did not. I have to say I am sometimes one of those snoopy moms who goes and checks browser history- I think you have to do that just to be safe. I have never done that with texts though. I do get scared sometimes though when you read about online predators and such- I guess we can only pray that our kids will not be faced with that!
I have a daughter and a son who are gizmo freaks and not nerdy but v v tech savvy. Yes, the pc is always on in their rooms. The good news however is my kids havent clammed up and keep us in their social network which I think is pretty cool!! I dont know any of my kids friends whose parents are on their social network. We try not to pry but when we do find some things are not quite right we say our piece. A lot more can happen behind our backs as it is difficult to walk that tight rope as a parent. Sometimes trusting your child is the only option. Trust goes a long way!!
I trust my own kids- it is the others I am worried about!
I would agree to an extent on the good side of internet usage. My students in grade 4 can use flash, dreamweaver and other software with absolute ease. It amazes me sometimes when the children make an animated card for instance and they pick up most of their tips and techniques through online guides. How do they know what they know? They are constantly in touch with each other picking up the latest info on a gizmo or on pc utility.
I still think there are better ways for teens to spend their time that does not involve the use of computers and phones. I think they forget their manners and how you are supposed to socialize with others in person when they spend so much of their time chatting electronically. Call me old fashioned but I think we are doing our kids a big disservice by allowing them all of this time to go online and do things there that they would never do in person. I think they are exposed to too many bad things online, and parents can say all they want that they monitor what they are doing online. But I would be willing to place a bet that many of us have no idea about everything our kids see, say, and do while online. They are very good at hiding their tracks, much better than we are at finding them. I say we all still need to be careful about how much freedom on the computer they are allowed.
Teach ur kids from childhood what it means to place trust in them. Whatever happens with the outside world they’ll stay good on the inside.
I completely disagree with this. Being on My Space and Face book does not allow you to develop a public identity. In fact I find that it allows you to remain very private and almost shrouded in secrecy. Online you can be anyone you want to be and that is how so many kids are getting into trouble. We have tweens pretending to be 18 or even 21 years old and someone out there is buying into all of that. They are being exposed to images, language, and situations that they are not emotionally equipped to handle and now we say this is all right? Give me a break! There are so many better things out there for our kids to be doing and this is the best that we are offering to them.
Carolyn I totally agree with you. My grandkids do nothing but sit in front of a computer screen all day long and this is very annoying. They have forgotten how to interact with real humans.
I do understand about the quality time the kids should spend with their parents and also agree that we do need to get out kids out of their rooms away from the computer every once in awhile, but I do think the kids should be allowed to play on the computer as well… At least they are at home and not out getting into trouble. I do think we need to set a time limit between family and the computer– and yes, we may not always know what our kids are saying an doing on the computer but we have to have trust there if we want our kids to return the trust
Until I see anything suspicious or wrong doing that my child is doing on the computer, or that I see my child’s grades failing in school, then I am not going to ban him from his computer. Actually I am quite impress on all the graphics he creates for his pages and how computer smart he is… Until then.. I see no reason to distrust my child. I do agree, however, that we do need to monitor and watch our children, but not totally take over what he can and can’t do.
I can see everyone’s point here. But I have to go with Kimber and Marsha… We need to trust our children until they give us reason otherwise. Computers are not the enemy here and as long as we spend time with our kids and they don’t choose us over the computer, then I say let the kids have their fun..
my mom and dad put restrictions on my happiness! but i stil live at home, so what the heck life sucks and then u grow up and die