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Essay / Young people are starting to change
In an age dominated by digital communications, today's teens are slowly losing the ability to connect with their real-world peers. What will happen because of this loss? Teenagers are undoubtedly one of the first demographic groups to become interested in new technologies, and the one that has stuck around the longest is the Internet. Today's young people live in yesterday's future. Where getting in touch with anyone can be done from anywhere. With the ability to have immediate connection at your fingertips, everyday organic interactions become blander. Instead of being expected to flourish, adolescents become reactionary beings who have little or no sense of what it means to be human. Constant digital communication is causing an alarming disconnect among adolescents, eliminating the need for person-to-person interaction in favor of its digital successor. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Instead of talking with close friends, teenagers now post their feelings on the Internet where everyone can see them. Children going through changes in adolescence have always relied on the network of people around them to help them cope with what they are feeling and going through. They may be going through difficult personal times or just want someone to tell them they are worth something. But today, some teenagers have decided to post their inner feelings online for all to see, instead of finding a close friend to talk to, in the hope that someone will come along and help them on their path to maturity . This may work in theory, but in the case of 14-year-old Hannah Smith, that theory doesn't always work in practice. Hannah Smith was going through a period of stress and anxiety, so she turned to the popular social networking site Ask.fm. It was there that she posted her feelings online, with the possibility of anonymous internet users responding to her, and with the possibility of posting anonymously, anything could happen. According to Chandra Johnson, “the responses came quickly. Anonymous posters urged Smith to cut himself and drink bleach. One even said, “Do us all a favor and kill yourself.” This ultimately led to Hannah committing suicide and her family demanding action from the website. The police intervened and their detectives discovered something shocking about the source of the comments. The comments came from Hannah herself. She “hoped that her friends would rally to her defense.” Even with the ability to get help from friends, Hannah took to the internet where she attacked her own character and isolated herself even further. The Internet makes it more difficult every day for teens to find and stay with a reliable group of friends who have their best interests in mind. This leads to a renunciation of the community. Due to the rapid integration of the Internet into adolescents' lives, many of them no longer experience the community around them. One of these communities is the urban community. Many people still traverse the urban environment sharing bits of humanity wherever they go, but teenagers stuck in the digital environment miss these bits. With their faces downcast or their minds turned to a conversation that doesn't exist with them. They become creatures from a dual environment. Paul Goldberger says: “When you walk down the street and talk on a cell phone, you are not on the street sharing the common experience of life?