Growing Up Online Summary

"Growing Up Online" is a film directed by Rachel Dretzin and John Maggio that discusses the impact of new technology on adolescents in school and in society. A key aspect of this film is that the Internet isn’t just a way to socialize with one another, but it is becoming a way of life. Adolescents are growing up online and creating completely new identities from who they really are in person. The film focuses on the disturbing cyber bullying, involving a young named Ryan Halligan, and other cases such as a girl creating a new identity online.

I use the internet to connect socially with my friends and family. It hasn’t really impacted my life in a major way. Before the internet life seemed to be more personal and since the internet and new technology has taken the leading role in communication, relationships with people face to face have become more difficult to establish. Personally, I feel more comfortable expressing myself when I am not face to face with someone, although I do feel it is less intimate. I feel privileged to have the internet at hand whenever I need it to keep in contact with people.