Growing Up Online response

The internet is becoming a very dominating part of our world, in both pleasure and work, and PBS addresses how this affecting the first generation to fully grow up under the influence of the internet in their documentary "Growing Up Online." The internet is the largest outlet for identity that exists, and that's why it attracts so many. With social networking sites, one can create an image for themselves simply by putting spin on all the works of a site, making them appear however they want to appear. A perfect example of this is given by Jessica Hunter, internet alias Autumn Evans. PBS explains, "[she] was a shy and awkward girl who struggled to make friends at school. Then, at age 14, she reinvented herself online as...a goth artist and model." As an outlet for her angst, she created an alter-ego for herself, whom people started to love. Finally gaining the attention she needed, she started to, although feeling as if a different person, feel more satisfied in life.
More kids are using the internet as outlets, and begining to use social networking, rather than actual socially gatherings. Facebook and Myspace together have over 160,000,000 members. One of the kids, known only as Greg, explains "...you have to have the internet on to talk to your friends, cause everybody uses it. Its like a currency. If you don't use it, you're gonna be at a loss". The internet is simply ingrained into all of our lives, and without it, we're left in a different age, considered ancient. But problems come with this access to everything. Ryan Halligan, was a victim of cyberbullying, and sadly, commited suicide. His father, with a crack in his voice, spoke "[t]he computer and the Internet were not the cause of my son's suicide, but I believe they helped amplify and accelerate the hurt and the pain that he was trying to deal with that started in person, in the real world." As sad as some things may be, people on the net aren't victims, but participants. Everyone is choosing to submerge their lives in the net. And this is why, according to video, created possibly the greatest generation gap.