Greg, the first adolescent that was chronicled said he was always on the internet. His parents tried to monitor what he was viewing on the internet by using parental controls but Greg was able to outsmart the parental controls. Greg also stated that he spent much of his free time on the computer and often times felt that it was hard to disconnect. Greg is not alone, in a survey of 8 to 18 year old Americans, nearly 90% had access to a computer at home and more than two-thirds of that 90% used the internet everyday (Arnett, 2013). At Greg’s school, Chatham High School, they are trying to integrate technology into the classroom in an attempt to keep adolescents attention. One teacher, that had been at the school for 30 years stated that she noticed
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Jessica created an alternate reality for herself, she was reborn online as Autumn Edows, a goth model. At the time Jessica was 14 but made attempts to look older, and in most of her pictures she appeared as though she were 18. Jessica’s parents had no idea that she had an alternate life online. In school, Jessica was bullied and made fun of, because she was different than the other students. What Jessica was participating in, is what some people would call identity play, which is defined as, how someone actively chooses to portray themselves, generally in terms of gender, personality and conversation style (Arnett, 2013). In terms of identity play, Jessica was portraying herself differently than in real life in all three ways that were suggested that adolescents may use identity play. As Autumn, she did not feel like herself, but she liked that feeling. Jessica was forced to shut down her alternate persona online when she was reported to the school principal for being inappropriate online. The school was right to have concern, not only for what they felt was inappropriate material, but also for Jessica’s safety. According to one finding, adolescents ages 10 to 17 who used the internet regularly, one in four adolescents had been subjected to unwanted sexual exposure online, and one in five adolescents had received sexual solicitation through the internet (Arnett, 2013). Arnett (2013) defines sexual solicitation as a request for sex or sexual information online from, either someone one knows or a
Jessica created an alternate reality for herself, she was reborn online as Autumn Edows, a goth model. At the time Jessica was 14 but made attempts to look older, and in most of her pictures she appeared as though she were 18. Jessica’s parents had no idea that she had an alternate life online. In school, Jessica was bullied and made fun of, because she was different than the other students. What Jessica was participating in, is what some people would call identity play, which is defined as, how someone actively chooses to portray themselves, generally in terms of gender, personality and conversation style (Arnett, 2013). In terms of identity play, Jessica was portraying herself differently than in real life in all three ways that were suggested that adolescents may use identity play. As Autumn, she did not feel like herself, but she liked that feeling. Jessica was forced to shut down her alternate persona online when she was reported to the school principal for being inappropriate online. The school was right to have concern, not only for what they felt was inappropriate material, but also for Jessica’s safety. According to one finding, adolescents ages 10 to 17 who used the internet regularly, one in four adolescents had been subjected to unwanted sexual exposure online, and one in five adolescents had received sexual solicitation through the internet (Arnett, 2013). Arnett (2013) defines sexual solicitation as a request for sex or sexual information online from, either someone one knows or a