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Cyberculture and Our Youth

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Cyberculture and Our Youth
Cyberculture and Our Youth | |

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Abstract
Trying to keep up with the changes in today 's youth is difficult to say the least. Now imagine having to do this at warp speed. We have to take a realistic approach to educating ourselves to what 's happening right before our eyes. For a great majority of people, in today 's society computers have become indispensable tools. It is our duties as parents and peers to keep up with the youth and their exposure the vast quantities of cyberculture. The mind is like a sponge and cyber culture is the fluid being absorbed, therefore monitoring the fluid content should be vital. Should there be limits? How much is too much for a young child? Even though some youth may be underage to create website accounts, they are becoming common users of adult websites. Measures must be taken up to protect our youth from the vulnerabilities that may be encountered while they are online.
There is a growing concern about the obsessive amount of time that our youth spends immersed in virtual reality worlds and it is very important to take cyberculture issues seriously. Children, youth, and even adults are engaging most of their free time online. The Nielsen Company, averages a single internet user spends 68 hours monthly on the internet. Internetworldstats.com ratings, who are also users of Nielsen Online and the US Census Bureau, indicate 28.7% which is about 2 billion people in the world are users of the internet. Thinking in terms of the overall rate of growth, usage of the internet during the ten year span from 2000 to 2010 the percentage of 444.8 indicates that internet usage will be greater than its current percentages just after one year. (Miniwatts Marketing Group, 2000-2010) The affects from this behavior could have detrimental outcomes in the development their young minds. Some individuals have the tendency to become powerless to virtual reality worlds. Their physical identity becomes less important than the



Cited: Elkind, D. (2003, September 22). Technology 's Impact on Child Growth and Development. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from CIO: http://www.cio.com/article/29797/David_Elkind_Technology_s_Impact_on_Child_Growth_and_Develop ment?page=3&taxonomyId=3154 Matei, S. (2005). From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Virtual community discourse and the dilemma of modernity. Retrieved April 4, 2011, from Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication: http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue3/matei.html Matyjas, B. (2008). Cyberculture: Dangers for Childhood. Retrieved April 5, 2011, from The New Edicational Review: http://www.educationalrev.us.edu.pl/vol/tner_3_2008.pdf#page=195 Michele L. Ybarra, MPH, PhD, Kimberly J. Mitchell, PhD . (2008, January 28). How Risky Are Social Networking Sites? A Comparison of Places Online Where Youth Sexual Solicitation and Harassment Occurs. Retrieved April 6, 2011, from Pediatrics: Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/121/2/e350#SEC8 Miniwatts Marketing Group. (2000-2010). INTERNET USAGE STATISTICS: The Big Picture World Internet Users and Population Stats. Retrieved April 11, 2011, from Internet World Stats : http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm Silver, D. (2000). RCCS: Introducing Cyberculture. Retrieved April 4, 2011, from RCCS: Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies: http://rccs.usfca.edu/intro.asp

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