“Why Youth love Social Network Sites”

Although my teen years are far behind me (thank goodness for that) I was still able to relate to many of the ideas presented.  The first two ideas that relate to the types of teens that did not participate in MySpace was one that I can relate to as both as a parent and nonparticipant. The first is that of the disenfranchised teen. When my daughter was a young teen (13) I did not allow her to have a MySpace account, because I was afraid of the potential for her to be exposed to something that she was not equipped to handle unknown. My feelings were kind of akin to Dr. Chelsey’s in regards to the chatrooms that she entered as a kid. She did eventually get a Facebook account in high school.  We recently discussed MySpace, and she shared with me that she is glad that she didn’t have an account, because she remembers how “lame” she was when she set up her Facebook account.  She went on to explain that as she sought to establish her identity in high school, she realized that a MySpace account would have simply been a duplication of the culture and identity of her peers.  While she admits that her identity and the culture that she associates with in high school, and today is influenced by her peers, her identity in middle school was completely based upon emulating others. I can also identify with the teens that are conscientious objectors.  This identity also shares some of the characteristics of another point made in the article.  I somewhat identify with the conscientious objectors for some of the same experiences of Stokely Carmichael had with his radio and television audiences in the 1960s (pg 133).  I don’t have a Facebook profile, because there is too much room for my ideas to be taken out of context.  As of late, I’ve been reading lots of texts pertaining to the South both pre and post-Jim Crow era.  In reading these texts I have been examining the hardships that my ancestors were forced to endure, the causes, and repercussions of these hardships. Many things that are a part of the culture that I’ve been enculturated into are being given context and meaning.  I am fully aware that posting or commenting on such things would be taken out of context and some would even express misplaced offense; therefore, I refrain from using any form of media besides my graduate courses to engage in any discussion on this topic.  Last week Naderia mentioned how blocking certain people from seeing items, and I thought of this as an option; however, it would be very difficult for me to ascertain people’s level of offense. It is for these reasons that, I am a conscientious objector.