[delete]

Numerous times throughout our year in American Studies, the topic of teenagers and the Internet has come up. The discussion generally centered around whether the extreme amount of technology in young adults' lives is a good or bad thing. Personally, I still haven't made up my mind because, as much as I love having Facebook to keep in touch with friends and relatives, I don't know if the positives outweigh the negatives.

This morning, I stumbled upon an advertisement for a movement called Delete Digital Drama. Basically, the goal of this campaign is to make teenagers aware of how hurtful cyberbullying can be and how it can effect its victims. I think this is an extremely important cause, and can even think of numerous times I have heard of my peers at New Trier being cyberbullied. I think the main reason cyberbullying has become so common in America is because it adds a feeling of anonymity to the person who is being the bully. I almost guarantee that a person would never say a lot of the hurtful things they write on Facebook to the face of the person. Even though I'm still uncertain about what I think about Facebook, I certainly think this is a worthy cause. I encourage you to join the campaign to fight cyberbullying and think before you type!

Think before posting

          Today, one of the students in my class brought to our attention some extremely inappropriate and hurtful  comments that were written on his blog. After discussing his specific situation for awhile, a bigger question came up- when, if ever, should the right to freedom of speech be breached (in cases involving the Internet) in order to ensure the safety of an individual?

          Though censorship doesn't seem like an American ideal, I think it is necessary in certain cases to keep violent or malicious Internet-writers in check. In the past, our government has deemed it necessary to censor newspapers and other types of media for the benefit of the country, so they should have the same right with the Internet. If anything, the Internet is more dangerous than the official media because anyone can write anything they want online. Another factor that makes the Internet dangerous has to do with its easy anonymity. When a person is saying something in person, their conscience effects them and they censor themselves to not say anything that would cause offense to their listener. On the other hand, when a person is sitting in front of a computer screen, typing their thoughts rather than saying them out loud, they feel free to say exactly what comes to their mind no matter how hurtful or offensive it may be. I think having some restrictions in place would cause people to think before posting, which would definitely be for the better of the Internet as a whole. Do you think there are any other solutions to this problem?

*for additional information about Internet censorship and how other countries have dealt with this issue click here