The [Virtual] World According to Teens

As part of our discussion about digital citizenship, students recently participated in an online forum (through my classroom Moodle site) about the topic.  The following excerpts show their thoughts:

"It is easier for people to be cruel through the use of the internet, texting, etc. because they cannot see the person's face and how they are reacting so they feel they can get all of their negative feelings out without having to actually deal with the reaction of the other person."

"I totally agree that people should think more about what they write out before they send it.  I heard someone created a "message preview" feature which read aloud whatever you were typing into a text box. The results were amazing, people wrote in to the guy who made it saying how stupid they felt for thinking up some of the comments they had written. Stuff like that should happen more often, then people would think through things more."

"What I think people who are mean to others online don't realize is that even though there isn't a true physical aspect there, there is still a connection between them and what they say online. The internet is called a "virtual world", but really, we're still here on Earth, and the things that happen online will still affect us."

"When people don't have to talk to someone face to face, they feel as though they have more power over that person. These people also may think that after they say something mean or inconsiderate that they can take it back, but the truth is that they really can't."

"I believe people do say things online that they may not tell directly to a person. The things people might say online doesn't automatically mean something negative, it could be that they are too nervous or feel uncomfortable saying something in person. Looking around, I noticed that we don't talk like this in class. Other people's posts, when you think of it, don't sound like him or her when you imagine it's their voice. I also notice that other people show their opinions and explain them very well. In class, I noticed that many people say their opinions, but not really explain it as much as these posts. Anyone noticed? (Even I am doing it.)"

"The internet allows us the freedom to talk to others and access information whenever we want, which makes us feel like we can do whatever we want. Also, we can feel anonymous behind a computer screen, which makes us feel like we can say anything."

"People use the computer almost as a "mask" and feel like they can say whatever they want, but in reality, talking through the computer can even hurt more than in real life."

"I feel that when people talk on the internet they use more caution.  If I had a complaint with someone and I was digitally communicating with them I would be calmer or reserved in my comments to them. I would do this because we all know how fast messages can be forwarded to other people.  So I would agree with the statement that people would says things they wouldn’t in real life but unlike everyone else thinking that they would talk more negatively on line than in real life I think that they would talk nicer than in real life."