Frontline: Growing Up Online

I viewed Frontline's video Growing Up Online. After giving my opinion of the documentary a lot of thought, I have responded to the two following questions.

How does this video impact your thinking about technology's role in the lives of your learners?

For the students that I will teach in the future, technology is so much more than a learning tool.  It is a part of their personalities and a vital part of their day-to-day lives.  In Chapter 3 of the video, a student named Jessica discusses how she created a completely new persona online named Autumn Edows.  Jessica created an entirely new goth persona online that she felt proud to be.  Autumn Edows didn't get shoved into lockers or bullied; she was famous.  It's normal for adolescents to experiment with their self-image, but now they can do so online. I had already known that teenagers do this, but the documentary really brought it home for me.

As Steve Maher, Social Studies Teacher, said in Chapter 2 of the documentary, "We almost have to be entertainers. If you look at the advertising world and the media world that they live in, they consume so much media. We have to cut through that cloud of information around them, cut through that media and capture their attention."  Teaching has changed a lot in the past decade because of the constant stream of media that kids absorb.  It has impacted students' ability to focus, and as teachers we need to adapt to that.

What will you do differently as a future teacher as a direct result of this new thinking?

I will be more sensitive to the several different types of pressures that students encounter online.  Cyber-bulling is a threat that is something that several students of this generation have experienced.  Students not only have the opportunity to be bullied in school, but also in their own homes.  An example of this is discussed in Chapter 6 of the video.  Ryan asked his dad how to fight because he was being bullied at school.  The part that the dad didn't know about was how Ryan was also being bullied online.  Ryan decided to seek relief elsewhere online and found a boy who he discussed death and the best ways to commit suicide with. Tragically, Ryan went through with the suicide in October of 2003.  As a teacher I will be extremely sensitive to the possible bullying going on both inside of and outside of the classroom.  I will be sure to give students as much support as I can give as well as refer students to getting more help if needed. 

Also, with all of the media that students absorb, the pressure to be "beautiful" is stronger than ever.  In Chapter 5, Sara discusses her anorexia and the support she finds online to resist eating and tips on how to purge.  From personal experience, I know that children as young as elementary school can be affected by negative body image.  I want to be an elementary school teacher, and I know that this is an issue that I will have to deal with.  As a teacher, I will promote a positive self-image in my classroom.  Every child is beautiful, and they need to be taught to love their bodies.

Have you ever been a victim of cyber-bullying, or felt the pressure to be skinny from the onslaught of media that we are subjected to on a daily basis?  What would you say to kids that have experienced this type of pressure?  I'm sure my opinions aren't the only ones out there.