Skip to content
Dr. Mike Brooks
  • Home
  • About Dr. Brooks
  • Services
    • Therapy
    • Consultation
    • Speaking
    • Fees
    • Testimonials
  • Resources
    • Pinwheel
    • Books
    • Websites
    • Psych FAQ’s
    • Screen FAQs
  • My Book
    • Reviews
  • Media
  • Posts
    • Blog
    • Videos
  • Contact
  • Search Icon

Dr. Mike Brooks

Austin Psychologist

Teen Internet Use Can Be a Good Thing

Teen Internet Use Can Be a Good Thing

January 13, 2009 Dr. Mike Brooks Comments 0 Comment

There are many concerns about teens’ use of the Internet that have been voiced by parents and educators over the years. While many concerns may still be legitimate, at least one study offered some positive news. A study by the McArthur Foundation came out recently that indicates that teens’ socializing on the Internet is generally not a bad thing. The study, which was based on interviews with over 800 teens and their parents and observations of over 5,000 hours of teens’ online behavior, found that most teens steer clear of dangerous web sites and primarily use the web for research or communicating with friends.
There is an undeniable fact in here: Teens’ social networks are now inextricably woven into their web usage. Thus, to participate socially, the vast majority of teens must be active online. This facilitates the learning of many social and technical skills, such as collaborative projects and creating/editing/posting videos to sites such as YouTube. Parents should have some frank discussions with their teens about Internet usage and provide some monitoring and guidance. However, parents need to accept that the teens need to be adept at Internet usage to develop some of the social and technical skills necessary to be successful in our society…and the society of the future.


Cyberpsychology - Technology and You
benefits, internet, social networking, technology, web

Post navigation

PREVIOUS
Radiolab (Podcast Recommendation)
NEXT
Can Texting Be Damaging for Teens?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Contact Info

Email: drmikebrooks@drmikebrooks.com

Office:
248 Addie Roy Rd, STE B-105, Austin, TX 78746

Recent Posts

  • Problems with Screen Time Research
  • A Different Take on Anger Management
  • Is Video Game Violence to Blame for Mass Shootings?
  • You Can’t Measure Transcendence
  • 8 Simple Reasons You Need To Stop Obsessing Over “Likes”

Buy My Book

RSS Facebook Posts

  • I've had a lot of parents asking me about how to get their kids off of screens as the pandemic recedes, so I wrote this blog for...
  • I'm looking forward to presenting next Wednesday night (4/7) via Zoom for Clint Small Middle School on "The Road Back to Normalc...
  • A runner's high makes even more sense to me now! I get this high big-time between miles 3-10. It appears to be more related to e...
  • My mother always taught me that when life gives us a lemon, we should try to make lemonade. This can't be done with every bad ev...
  • I feel certain that our politics, and thus society, would benefit from greater ambivalence...at least I'm pretty sure they would...
© 2021   All Rights Reserved.