Online social networking benefits youth, study says

In the most recent volume of the Journal of Adolescent Research, Dr. Brendesha M. Tynes' article "Internet Safety Gone Wild? Sacrificing the Educational and Psychosocial Benefits of Online Social Environments" indicates that online socialization through networks like Facebook and programs such as AIM are more beneficial to the development of adolescents than they are harmful or dangerous.

"Many internet safety and parenting experts suggest that parents prohibit their teens from social networking sites and other online spaces where predators may lurk… [But] banning adolescents from social networking sites - if this were even feasible - as well as monitoring too closely might close off avenues for beneficial cognitive and psychosocial development that are available to young people in the online social world," claims Tynes, Assistant Professor of African American Studies and Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

According to Tynes, while socializing in chatrooms with other teenagers located all over the world, adolescents learn valuable perspective-taking, argumentative, decision-making and critical thinking skills. Playing online games may also help adolescents "develop cognitive skills such as spatial visualization, analog representation - the ability to read images - and divided visual attention, that is, being able to manage multiple components in a visual field at once."

"I would like to see more research… [But] I think that it does provide those opportunities and unfortunately today, the education that we give teenagers does not allow many opportunities for critical thinking, because it's so based on testing and memorization of answers for standardized tests that they really need opportunities to develop these critical thinking skills because it is at this age that they are able to do this. A huge problem with school is that it often sacrifices that in the name of mass testing," said Dr. Jennifer Thomas, assistant professor of psychology at Wilkes University.

Teenagers may also benefit from databases such as YouTube. In her article, Tynes mentions research by Sonja Baumer of the University of California at San Diego centered around how adolescents learn global and political information through videos and dialogue on YouTube and various social networking sites.

"Educationally, the strongest point made by [Tynes] is that users of the social networks are more globally aware since they have immediate access to global issues, and the chance to read about global events from people in those settings," said Dr. Jane Elmes-Crahall, professor of communication studies. "That means at least on the surface, today's media-savvy young people know world events. And, emotionally, they can be moved to be caring."

"I don't think the average teenager thinks of anything from a political standpoint," said Erin Koolman, a senior at E. L. Meyers high school in Wilkes-Barre. But if adolescents had a special interest in political affairs or global concerns, they could certainly find the information that they were looking for online, Koolman added.

While Tynes believes that the benefits of online communication "can far outweigh the potential dangers," area high schools haven't seen anything that proves social networking sites can be used not only safely, but also for educational purposes.

However, even if local high schools are outfitted with computer labs and internet access, according to the Wilkes-Barre Area School District website, "the [use] of networked resources for non-academic purposes is not permitted." Websites such as Facebook and MySpace and also programs like AIM and Yahoo Messenger are blocked on all computers throughout the district.

Despite research suggesting the benefits of online socialization and data from the Youth Internet Safety Surveys arguing that there has been a decrease of unwanted sexual solicitation from 1 in 5 adolescents ages 10 to 17 in 1999-2000 to 1 in 7 in 2005, the school district will not allow access to network sites due to bullying, slander and solicitation/pedophilia, confirmed Patrick Peters, Dean of Students at Meyers High.

Alongside educational and psychological development, Tynes' research suggests that teenagers can also benefit emotionally and socially. Networking can aid adolescents as they explore their identities and can also "fulfill the need for social support, intimacy, and autonomy." Through perspective taking and racialized role taking, Tynes says that teenagers can become educated on racial and cultural issues while speaking with peers located on the other side of the country or even across seas.

"I believe that teens can be more open online because they are in the comfort of their own homes. I agree that they can get a diverse picture of current issues online, but nothing compares to face-to-face contact," said Sean Deats, sophomore psychology major. "I don't think that online communication eliminates racial or sexual stereotypes, but it certainly helps."

"I think the internet can only go so far and one-on-one interaction is different… I think it's going to take a lot more than just interacting with people on the internet to break stereotypes that are so engrained," said Thomas. "Social psychologists would say that to reduce stereotypes and prejudices, you need to interact with people different from you so you can see how similar they really are."

The internet can also provide a safe place for teens to talk about sensitive or personal issues such as romantic relationships or sexual health.

"If we look at websites that are geared toward teenagers, the sites they most often go to are sites having to do with sex. They have lots and lots of questions about sex. The way that we educate kids about sex today, the overwhelming majority of schools are abstinence only or abstinence based…" said Thomas. "Teens have lots of questions and lots of misconceptions, so they go to these online chatrooms to find out what the truth is… We just have to hope that they are going to sites with the right information."

Depending on location and a teen's own background, socializing with peers online and learning about different races, religions, and cultures may make a smoother transition from high school to college, where many vibrant cultures are brought together on a single campus and many forms of online socialization continue.

According to Mike Salem, chief information officer of IT Services, "Wilkes does not block any websites. Higher ed is a very open environment and to date there has not been any compelling reason to even consider doing so."

Without restrictions, Wilkes students can continue to use network sites such as Facebook whenever and wherever they would like. Nicole Zastko, a senior communication studies and integrative media double major, is currently researching college students use of Facebook.

"I'm expecting to conclude that most college students see Facebook as something beneficial to their college careers and something that serves as a helpful tool in their social lives," said Zastko.

While Tynes brings to light many benefits of online socialization, many parents are still focused on the negative aspects portrayed by the media. Although Tynes offers alternatives to banning social online environments for concerned parents and educators, she says that "the first line of defense should be teens themselves. Increasingly, tech-savvy adolescents are aware of the risks in online socializing and are developing their own strategies for staying safe in cyberspace."

"All adolescents can benefit as early as the age of twelve from having parents sitting down with them and explaining to them the consequences of being on the internet," said Thomas.

Although the positive aspects of online socialization may be growing, Elmes-Crahall believes that communicating in person is still vital for interpersonal relationships. "Every hour spent on social networks is one less hour spent learning how to effectively communicate face-to-face."