Several months ago I attended a seminar at the Children’s Law Center in Hartford called, “The Good, The Bad and The Internet.” It was presented by Welcome 2 Reality, LLC and was very informative. The purpose was to explore life through the lens of today’s youth and see how the bombardment of programming and social media can impact how they internalize and externalize their perception of reality. It was concerning to say the least but wasn’t all bad news. It was a call to raise awareness on Media Literacy.
Some highlights:
1. Technology Pros and Cons
- Pros
• Communication has increased
• Global networks
• Helps people stay in touch
• Able to locate friends
• Massive notification instantly
• Created a new language (Text) - Cons
• Reputation ruined in minutes
• Less personal socialization
• Cyber-Bullying
• Texting and talking while driving
• More fights due to internet
• Lack of accountability
• Anything can be edited online
• Users can become addicted
2. Signs of Cell Phone/Internet Addiction
- You feel anxious without your cell phone;
- During a face to face conversation you are thinking about using or start using your phone;
- In public or at dinner you start using your phone;
- Cell phone use is getting in the way of your life;
- When you start documenting/posting everything in your life
3. Texting While Driving
- Texting While Driving Causes:
• 1,600,000 accidents per year
• 330,000 injuries per year
• 11 teen deaths EVERY DAY
• Nearly 25% of ALL car accidents - Texting While Driving Is:
• About 6 times more likely to cause accident than intoxicated driving
• The same as driving after 4 beers
• The number one driving distraction reported by teen drivers - Texting While Driving:
• Makes you 23 times more likely to crash
• Is the same a driving blind for 5 seconds at a time
• Takes place by 800,000 drivers at any given time in US
• Slows your brake reaction speed by 18%
• Leads to a 400% increase with eyes off the road
4. Impact of Music on Girls who viewed at least 14 hours of videos per week:
- Over 2.5 times more likely to get arrested
- Twice as likely to have multiple sexual partners
- 1.5 times more likely to get a sexually transmitted disease, use drugs or drink alcohol
5. Treatment & Cures for Overuse of Technology:
- Counseling to establish a treatment program/evaluate progress
- Admit there is a problem
- Disable push notifications
- Deal with your boredom
- Stop following trends
- Think before you type
- Engage in or real relationships
- Try a week off
6. Internet Safety Resources:
welcome2reality.us
missingkids.com
netsmartz.org
webwise.ie
cybertipline.com
onlinesafety.com
connectsafely.org
commonsensemedia.org
7. Social Media Youth Contract:
