http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/15738332.html
This article was about the death of 2 teens who were killed after drinking and driving, causing an accident. There were 5 teens in the car and were all supposedly drinking. A 19 year old and a 14 year old were killed. This is, of course, tragic as all these situations are. What I found most intriguing about this, however, was the comments left my people about the accident. There ended up being a lot of religious banter back and forth, mostly sparked by the comment of one poster: "I feel sorry for the people in the other car who got hit and had to suffer because of stupidity. I feel no remorse for the kid who drinks and kills himself. Its darwin in action. One less idiot teen left in the world. I do not feel sorry for the parents, because they should have tought them better. I see it as good for society."
This make me think about the debate about lowering the drinking age. At what point are we old enough to take on the responsibilities of the effects of alcohol? These boys certainly did not deserve to die. That is far too young. But everyone knows that drinking and driving is dangerous but we all suffer from the idea that something like that could not happen to us. Unfortunately it is not only teens drinking and driving. It's people of any age and it's tragic.
http://www.soulcysters.net/u-s-teen-dies-after-following-high-protein-diet-21359/
This article is about a 16-year-old girl who died after trying a low carb/high protein diet. "Electrolyte imbalances due to the diet, and the resulting damage to her heart function, were likely responsible..." The reason I chose this article was because of the pressure from society that is put on teens to be thin and fit some kind of mold. Just as we have discussed in class, the significance of what teens feel like they have to look like--both boys and girls. Eating disorder rates are higher than ever and diets for teens, and even younger, are dieting or have dieted. This is a scary thought. I walk through stores and see some of the outfits that they have for little girls and it's mind blowing. Now that summer is approaching, they have the bathing suits out and have little 2 pieces for little girls. Let me tell you, the day my young daughter wears a 2 piece will never come. I feel like that is inviting a future eating disorder and possible predators. Nooo thank you.
http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/2008-2009/top_gun/
When 15-year-old Brandon Crisp's parents realized he was skipping school due to long hours playing his XBox and a game called "Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare", they took the game away. Brandon was devastated and decided to run away from home. He died of hypothermia several miles from his home. Video games have become so central to children and teens that people aren't considering the possibility of it turning into an addiction. I think this addiction is something that is going to continue to grow and be one that people are going to have to start taking seriously.
For any parent with a child who plays video games, it is essential to understand the world of video games along with the serious problems of possible addiction. Parents who realize the addictive nature of some video and internet games are in a better position to make wise decisions around the games their children are allowed to play.
I did not intend to be morbid by the post of teens deaths, but I thought each topic was significant to the world of teens and are things that adults aren't taking seriously enough.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Youth and Social Networking
It is almost scary how sites like Facebook and MySpace are signs of status in a way. They are practically running the lives of teens today.
Henry Jenkins said:
"MySpace has over 78 million registered accounts while Facebook has approximately 8 million. While over 85% of college students participate on Facebook if it exists on their campus, MySpace is a cultural requirement for American high school students. Or, as one teenager said, “If you’re not on MySpace, you don’t exist.” Not all MySpace users are teenagers, but most American teenagers have accounts on MySpace.
These sites play a key role in youth culture because they give youth a space to hang out amongst friends and peers, share cultural artifacts (like links to funny websites, comments about TV shows) and work out an image of how they see themselves. They also serve as digital publics, substituting for the types of publics that most adults took for granted growing up, but are now inaccessible for many young people – neighborhood basketball courts, malls, parks, etc. Youth are trying to map out a public youth territory for themselves, removed from adult culture. They are doing so online because their mobility and control over physical space is heavily curtailed and monitored."
When I heard it said this way, that youth are trying to map out a public youth territory for themselves, it made me consider these social networking sites in a new way. I certainly had never thought about it in that sense. It is understandable that teens just want a place for themselves. As long as they are being careful, i.e. predators, dangers of meeting people on there, etc. then maybe it is good for them to have their own outlets.
Henry Jenkins said:
"MySpace has over 78 million registered accounts while Facebook has approximately 8 million. While over 85% of college students participate on Facebook if it exists on their campus, MySpace is a cultural requirement for American high school students. Or, as one teenager said, “If you’re not on MySpace, you don’t exist.” Not all MySpace users are teenagers, but most American teenagers have accounts on MySpace.
These sites play a key role in youth culture because they give youth a space to hang out amongst friends and peers, share cultural artifacts (like links to funny websites, comments about TV shows) and work out an image of how they see themselves. They also serve as digital publics, substituting for the types of publics that most adults took for granted growing up, but are now inaccessible for many young people – neighborhood basketball courts, malls, parks, etc. Youth are trying to map out a public youth territory for themselves, removed from adult culture. They are doing so online because their mobility and control over physical space is heavily curtailed and monitored."
When I heard it said this way, that youth are trying to map out a public youth territory for themselves, it made me consider these social networking sites in a new way. I certainly had never thought about it in that sense. It is understandable that teens just want a place for themselves. As long as they are being careful, i.e. predators, dangers of meeting people on there, etc. then maybe it is good for them to have their own outlets.
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