Internet = A Dangerous Outlet

Some people use art to express themselves, others do so through sports or yoga, but today increasingly more young people are finding their identity through internet blogs and sights such as myspace and face book. Its no secret that most of us spend way too much time on the internet. But as seen in this weeks reading, many young people have started to use the internet as a space to express themselves through pictures, blogs, statuses, quotes etc. It is a way for kids to get away from their hectic daily schedules and socialize in a free space, where they can do and say what they want. Some people take this to the extreme, and use the internet to expose every detail of their life, to post inappropriate pictures or to vent about a problem they are having. Talking about this in class reminded me of my senior year of high school, when we had a speaker talk to us about "cleaning up" our images on the internet, before we started applying to colleges. In other words, we were told that it would be smart for us to take down any pictures of underage drinking, or other inappropriate behavior, cursing on our page etc. Back then, I didn't really think much of it, but as my younger brother starts applying to college, I thought I'd do a little research about just how many colleges actually check Face Book or MySpace. I came across this article, which basically says that today, one out of 10 college admissions officers checks applicants Face books, and 88% of recruitment officers. Because of this, the Internet may not be a space for kids to socially connect and express themselves anymore. Anything kids today put online could be held against them, which, in many cases, they do not understand.