U2 #8 Media Reflection Ariana Flores

In class we watched Frontline's Digital Nation. It consisted of a variety of stories  about teenagers online. There was a teen with an eating disorder, teen with a secret identity, and another who was a victim of cyber bullying. It talked about parents wanting to know that their kids were safe online, and those who couldn't get through to their teenagers because they were staring at a screen almost 24/7. The most memorable part of the film was the child that hung himself because he was getting cyber bullied. I was so mad that the other kid was encouraging the child to commit suicide and felt that maybe if he wasn’t being manipulated or talked to like that, there may have been a chance that he could still be alive. It’s important to watch these shows because they bring awareness to the actions, repercussions/consequences, and lives of teens online. I will keep my family family safe online by speaking to my kids about online trolls or strangers. I would not want them to talk to anyone online that they don’t know. I’d at least ask that we follow each other on social media so that I know what’s being posted. I would also make sure that they don’t go on any strange sites or post anything controversial as well as anything about their private lives. It’s important to know internet safety in our families so that bad situations don’t arise and the unknown of the internet  doesn’t  start to confuse us. I would tell parents to make sure that their children don’t talk to strangers online or go on strange sites. I would also say that what a child is posting should be monitored, but not so much that a parent is smothering their child.