2009-09-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

On the PBS FRONTLINE program "Growing Up Online", they address a major issue which effects children and teens worldwide. This major issue is the accessibility and usage of internet and the social networks on the internet, for children. These social networks, such as Facebook, Myspace, Xanga, YouTube, Live Journal, etc., allow children to live second lives which is solely online, and private from their parents. This could cause problems because they don't know if a predator is one of their "friends" on these social networking sites. These sites expose the children's lives to the very dangerous public, and can easily deny parents to access it. The PBS program also shows how these networking sites work to address children of all types, using games, videos, and profiles. Children of young ages are able to play games which are like an introduction to the social networking sites used by older children, and use the same terms such as being able to "accept" or "deny" who get to be their "friend". Videos and games of all types are also presents on the internet to appeal to the children's different likes or dislikes.

In David Talbot's, article "How Obama Really Did It", he speaks about how President Barack Obama used the internet to boost his campaign, and maybe even gave him the difference in his win of the election. He speaks on how President Obama used his own website, www.my.barackobama.com, known as MyBO for short, to push forward his campaign, and raise money, which is the base of any campaign. All candidates used the internet as a part of their campaign, but Barack Obama used the internet to the next level. His campaign hired Chris Hughes, a co-fonder of Facebook, to help design his site. This site allowed supporters, to donate money, follow the election, read about his achievements, and even find fellow supporters in their area, down to the block they lived on. This showed how Obama used a new young trend, to reach out to his supporters, and maybe even to make the difference in his election to president.

In the article by Daniel Terdiman titled "Second Life Teaches Life Lessons" he speaks about a huge online multiplayer game called Second Life. It was created as a endless environment which people could fly, drive, etc. around in outfits of their choice, and do just about anything they wished. The name of the game suits it well, in which it enables the player to live a second life in a second world. However, the makers of this game did not imagine that this fantasy world they developed would be used to help those with disabilities or children of hard pasts. Second Life is able to help them, in that it allows them to be involved with other people and take part in society without being judged. It also allows them to learn social skills which can be used in real life. Second Life differs from other multiplayer online games, such as World of Warcraft and EverQuest, in that it does not have an objective to the game other than to interact with others.

freshhh