Are the children of today being raised with a new and different set of values from previous generations because of the prevalence and the availability Internet? Is this the TV Generation of the 1960~s and 1970~s with a new twist? Currently there are studies underway that are assessing the impact of the Internet but complete answers
aren~t available yet. Yet, there are plenty of opinions on this volatile subject.
The Internet began as a government project that was later opened for use by every society throughout the world. By using existing telephone communication systems such as cable and satellites, anyone anywhere in the world now had the freedom to send a message from one computer to any other computer. As the Internet was born to the world, little regulation was enforced and many children embraced this new frontier as quickly - or quicker - than their elders.
Children enthusiastically embraced Internet technology and the fact that they were able to decipher its nuances without the help of their parents, and sometimes teachers, supports the theory that these kids are smarter than earlier generations because of the Internet. Internet savvy kids have the freedom to explore the entire World Wide Web. While all this information can expand their horizons there is concern that children are learning too much adult material on the Internet.
Children in the TV Generation spent hours in front of the TV set. Children of the Internet Generation have both the TV set and the computer screen for their passive entertainment. Is the Internet as mindless as the TV? Both forms of entertainment are passive and support only a short attention span. Both TV and the Internet allow the child to quickly switch subjects to get instant gratification. Also the Internet has a greater risk potential for children. No child was even lured away by the TV set whereas children who wander into the wrong chat room can be lured away by a dangerous human predator. Children perhaps need greater supervision while exploring the Internet versus watching TV.
In the early days of television, educators were impressed by the possibilities of the new medium for expanding a child~s mind. Today educators see the Internet as a vast resource of information. Search engines easily pinpoint information that used to require hours of library research. However, does instant access to information make this generation any smarter or wiser? Maybe we have just taught students how to effectively use the copy and paste functions.
In spite of all of the negative aspects of the Internet, the new electronic medium has opened the world of information and commerce. The benefits of the Internet do exceed any problems and the younger generations will see the full fruit of the Internet.