Forget what Grandma told you about children being “seen, not heard.” Thanks to the Internet, today’s teens expect to be seen and heard by their friends, acquaintances–even perfect strangers. And they’re A-OK with that.
According to experts, youth have a completely different understanding of the word “privacy,” thanks to living in an age loaded with reality television, cell phone cameras and, of course, the World Wide Web. Social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have changed the way teens interact with one another, and today’s youth may regularly converse with dozens of “friends” at a time via instant messaging.
“The private self and public self become intertwined in a way that we can’t possibly understand,” said psychologist Linda Young, who writes about teens and technology. “So they’re not embarrassed about some of the things that we think they should be embarrassed about because it’s an extension of the self that they’re used to having viewed.” (USA Today)
