"Internet" Generation

Last week I was shock by the fact that this happend, and it is real!

I was reading the newspaper from my country, Chile, and this news call my attention: "American Girl fall in love wiht a Chilean guy", there is nothing new about it, but the interesting part of it, was that this relationshiop began on the internet, no phone calls, no regular mail, not even webcams, just email, and chat. I kept reading and i found out that this american girl went to Chile to meet her boyfriend; she got to Chile, exaited that she was about to meet the love of his life, and sadly it turn to be nothing real, it was all a lie!, this suppost boyfriend turn to be a women who stole a name and a personality from some random guy in Chile ( she kind of went to google and looked after Chilean male names ), and there she was, in Chile, alone and broken heart.

I share this storie because it is true, and it seems to be something really normal in the present time, and it is not just with adults, it is really close to young people, and even kids.

What I share, gives us the perfect example of what young people is doing over the internet, they are faking identities, faking their age and gender, and they are creating this new character in their lives, and as it is begind the computer, and nobody can see them, it seems like the perfect way to get away of the reality; and this reality could be not being accept at school, being reject for the peers, or just some psychological disorder.

Young people are involve in this enviroment of technology, everything that surroend them has something to do with computers, like ipods, video games ( psp, xbox, ds), video cameras, cameras and so on, and this make it easy for them to do what ever they want on internet, there is not rules on internet, there is not rules in chat rooms, blogs, or communities, surely there are some exceptions, but who can control over 160 millios of members at the same time? this is the number that communities like MySpace and Facebook work with.

So practicaly there are not rule, and this alow to the young to do whatever they want, no body is watching them, no body is recording tracks, or following patterns of behavior, probably because there is nothing to see, or there is nothing to watch or to follow, because everything happend over the net, on internet. Youth has the control over this world, it is easier for guys and girls who are not accept by their peers as who they are, to create realtionships over the internet, because people can not see them so they are in a very confortable zone, it make youth a lazy generations, almost everything is on internet now, books, homework, food, clothes, dates, friends, even school, everything is on internet ( this is one excus that they use to get internet "mom my homework is on the shcool website" etc). so there is not reason to go out, and it is even better, not one has to see me, and i can be a little bit more crazy and do stuff that I could not do in front of everyone; but this has another side as well, the side of those who take advantage of this Online situation, and came with jokes, lies and differents thinks to make the life of this people difficult.

And then we get to the part were the parents are not even in control of all this, some of them have or think they have the control over all this situation, getting firewall, setting up the computer in a place where everybody can see it, but youth folks are smart and they always get away of this, problably they have one friend whos parents are not home so they can go and chat with our restrictions, or filters, which were provided by the Safe feeling of being home.

But until what point are parents alow to invide the private life of their kids, does the fact of being their mom gives her the authority over the child?, or if we go a little bit to south america, we can maybe here "under my roof my rules", maybe parents should be more in contact with their sons and daugthers, so they can of prevent this situations of isolation and taking my life apart of reallity, because it feels really good to have the atteniton of everyone, and everyone who can not see me, and never guess who it really is, can get to know me a lit bit, and i can show my self to them through pictures, and videos.

This are things that we have to think about, this are things that are happenign right under our noses, what should be do? take apart computers, and star a campaing to avoid the use of computers? or should be teach our youth, kids, young, sons, daugthers, how to use it and really take the good part of it?

There are so many questions going on, it is a actual topic, and it keeps developing, and it wont stop, until somebody say or do something. are we willing to do that? or are we really feeling confortable with all this things?

peace to all

fxcx