The stories that caught my eye this week...
Sunday, August 9, 2009 by Technoculture and New Media
Three news stories from the UK media have caught my eye this past week.
The first looks at the suggestion that youth are starting to leave social networking sites and that {gasp} it might be the oldies that are driving them away: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/aug/06/young-abandon-social-networking-sites
The second reports on the sometimes tragic consequences of teenagers 'sexting': http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/aug/07/sexting-teenagers-mobile-phones
And the third sets about 'debunking' the claims made in a recently popular YouTube video about Muslim immigration in Europe: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8189231.stm
The second article about the sexting is definitely concerning. I recently saw a similar story on Doctor Phil about a 12 year old engaging in sexting, being coerced into sending her peers naked pictures of herself - obviously resulting in a lot of ridicule and bullying. I remember when the awareness of the AIDS virus was being increased, schools in South Africa began to teach specific classes about the disease. Seems there is a need for the same type of education about the dangers of technology as they too can be spread as easily, and are therefore as dangerous as any other virus.