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Kids of Today and Internet Use

If there are children who have been under attack, it is the millennium kids. When you google about millennials, the results are most likely to be blog posts, article and research that have an impression that this huge group of 20 and 30s are self-entitled, narcissist and who are always on their phones or online. Amy Goldwasser in her article titled “What’s the matter with the kids today?” tries to breakdown an understanding of this current generation who seem to be quite ignorant even to the country’ literature as well as history. She tries to portray the internet is not as bad as we have made it seem. According to Goldwasser, the only problem with the millennium generation is not the use of the internet. I tend to agree with Goldwasser, but is it about the kids or is it about the technological advancement that are at the peak during a point millenniums were born. The internet has proved to do more good than harm as most surveys would want to portray and see need to embrace it’s use and stop demystifying millennials for their hook on internet use.

Technology has been a great aspect of interacting with people from different walks of life. Goldwasser points out that internet has been an important aspect that has helped teenagers document their lives. Goldwasser puts the word honest in that statement which is what I don’t agree with, most of the millenniums who document their lives while some are real and honest, others are living a fake life trying to please other people or compete with the other people from what they see on the internet. Despite these disadvantages, millenniums may be the most connected generation. Exchange of ideas is done across continents. The internet has changed the lives of most millenniums and a god example are the millionaires who invented social media platforms.

Most of us will want to argue about the negative effects such as millennials stuck on their phone every single time. Goldwasser, points this out that often as kids, we are stuck on our phones but she also quickly points out how we have revolutionized technology as ads can be sold with a site like Myspace which is worth $580 million. Internet has changed how we get to interact with people from all over the world including sharing of love, interaction and knowledge. There have been social media platforms such as snapchat, Instagram and Facebook that has made all this easier. Social media platforms have revolutionized e-commerce. We are at a point online business has taken over everything including how we order this. This can all be credited to the millennial generation. Goldwasser points out how even presidential election was streamed on YouTube and points out the power of this by stating that this may actually determine how election may turn out. This just proves how strong the internet is and if the power is harnessed well then we can make a lot of impact on the millennials with the correct use of the internet.

The young generation have harnessed the internet to their advantage. Getting well-paying jobs is no longer as easy as it used to be. The millennials are entrepreneurs and not lazy as the media articles has made it look like especially when referring to their constant use of the internet. We no longer leave in generation where well-paying jobs are guaranteed but rather one needs to be inventive. The internet has helped the millenniums be inventive. Most run online businesses and the greatest part is that they have the support of their fellow millennials as you will see them sharing the posts of each other business across platforms. Blogging and networking has been embraced by teenagers “average teen chooses to spend an average of 16.7 hours reading and writing online.” (Goldwasser, pg. 239) This means if there is information that you need the teens to get, then the best way to ensure they get it is through the internet. There are individuals who have gained following and refer to themselves as influencers. These individuals at a fee will help people know about your business and it is a great way of putting a word out there about a business. Thus, when you see “kids of today”’ online, there is so much they are doing. Cleary the millennials are exploiting the technology in building an empire for themselves.

The author makes a good point about the surveys often conducted about the use of the internet and how they’ll label “labeling like the mean girls, driven by the same jealousy and insecurity.” (Goldwasser, 238) This over generalization is among the stereotypes that have always been used to label the millennium generation. Goldwasser points out that the internet is among the things that we now know about teenagers. Most want to purport that the internet has made most kids lazy as they are able to access all their information online but isn’t this what the internet was made for? Everyone including the adults use the internet to understand what is happening outside. If for example a shooting occurs, then we are likely to quickly google to understand what is happening. Gone are the days we used to wait on news bulleting or newspaper to understand what is going on as information is now a tap away.

Although the internet has proved to be a great source of information, there is evidence that most “kids of today” are ignorant of important history. The author gives the example of a survey that established one in four children did not knows the importance of Adolf Hitler in history. A solution is provided by Goldwasser is that parents needed to have introduced minutes of research on the Holocaust when monitoring their children use of the internet. Parents should actually be involved in monitoring what their children access through the internet. If you want your child to gather important information from the internet, then you are in a position to do this. Denying your child internet is no longer the solution. Taking phones, iPods or computers from them may do more harm than good. They may miss out on getting very valuable information however this can be prevented by ensuring that your daughter or son access important information including research on literature and history for just a few minutes. There is however the concern of getting false information from the internet as Silva indicates in her essay. It is important to teach these kids how to analyze and get credible sources for their information.

In conclusion, we should stop demystifying the internet and how millennials use the internet. Internet is not the problem as to why teenagers may be ignorant of information, rather, it is the use that has proved to be a problem. Goldwasser believes parental guidance is important in ensuring kids of today utilize it to get important information. It is important that we understand that the internet is not the villain but rather we need to help our kids know how to use it responsibly. There is so much ways the internet can help our teenagers be better people and get valuable information.

Works Cited

Goldwasser, Amy. “What’s the Matter with Kids Today?” Salon, Salon.com, 14 Mar. 2008, https://www.salon.com/2008/03/14/kids_and_internet/.

BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033 Silva, Catherine. “Wats the Matter W U.” 25 February 2011. Document. 28 October 2019.