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November 6, 2007Benefits of Online Interaction for Teens Outweigh Danger |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Media reports warn of online predators, hate groups and other "digital dangers" lurking in online social spaces, and those dangers are not to be taken lightly, says Brendesha Tynes, a professor of educational psychology and of African American studies at Illinois. "But we may do adolescents a disservice when we curtail their participation in these spaces, because the educational and psychosocial benefits of this type of communication can far outweigh the potential dangers," Tynes wrote in an essay titled "Internet Safety Gone Wild?" In online discussions, teenagers have the opportunity to develop critical thinking and argumentation skills, Tynes said. In many circumstances, the same anonymity that parents and educators often find so threatening about certain online sites and spaces is actually a benefit, she said. In particular that can be true with issues of race and ethnicity, which Tynes has found in her research to be "very much a common theme" in adolescents' online discussions. Added to that is the racial or ethnic insensitivity to be found routinely in many online conversations, Tynes said. Others may find the online environment a place to ask serious questions about race or ethnicity they would be afraid to ask in person, for fear of offending or causing a conflict, Tynes said. Increasingly, tech-savvy adolescents are aware of the risks in online socializing and are developing their own strategies for staying safe in cyberspace."
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