I believe that online contents are important in the growth of both children and adults. As Wängqvist & Frisén In the article Who Am I Online? Understanding the Meaning of Online Contexts for Identity Development mentioned that online content allows youth with shyness to immerse themselves in spaces that may be difficult for them in person. This could mean taking part in being a resident instead of a visitor for topics they’re passionate about. Thinking back to my youth day, this certainly was true. As a minority youth, I grew up learning to love my culture more from seeing others celebrating my cultural background.
This made me as a youth felt proud to be of a minority culture. It helped me to transfer that appreciation for my culture offline and to leading cultural workshops for other youth in person. I believe that online content also benefits adults as well. Shyness doesn’t go away even as you continue to age. If possible, many adults who are introverts prefer to have that independent time to think and also share their thoughts on topics current being discussed. I see this happen often on Facebook among my peers. In person, they’re often quiet, but online, they’re vocal and active in many topics such as social justice.
Moving on, social network can have great impact to someone’s digital identity formation. As Aras Bozkurt and Chih-Hsiung Tu mentioned in Digital identity formation: socially being real and present on digital network, Facebook contributes to a social glue, which helps students to fit into a university or other social group. Personally, I use to be someone who liked watching anime alone because I was embarrassed to be labeled as a “Otaku”, which is a semi negative term used to describe people who likes anime and manga excessively. Only till recently did I discovered others who were similar to me on Facebook. Upon discovering a community that held similar interest as me, I learned to love my side for watching anime and reading manga. That community helped me to embrace a side that I have kept on the low from the public. I often have multiple conversations with online strangers in that community regarding recent anime that I just watched such as Haikyu or Jujutsu Kaisen. From interacting with these peers who range from within the U.S to across the world, it expanded my thinking and views on life. Social network has greatly helped me to normalize many of the things I used to view as negative and turned it towards something positive.
As kids continued to use these social networks and expand their social identities while online, I believe that it’s important to educate them on the danger of online usage. As mentioned in both articles above, Facebook has been a great social networking tool. It allows everyone of all ages to connect with friends and families across the world. They’re exposed to different cultures and norms that aren’t present where they currently live. This allows them to take interest in other cultural norms and increase their diversity experiences. Additionally, while engaging online, it’s important to remind kids to respect each other too. As Alec Couros shared a photo of the 3 Cs and Q teaching to students, I believe those type of education will greatly help keep all youth safe. For example, youth who are LGBTQA+ can safely express themselves without worrying about backlash from their peers if everyone learned to respect each other’s. Parents should also educate and monitor their kid’s online activity until they’re mature enough to be left alone. Providing education on the danger of social media and continuously remind them to be safe will reduce the risk of them being exposed to danger. Monitoring kids digital presence will add an additionally security measure. There are also many apps nowadays that helps to keep kids safe while expanding their online learning journey.
Overall, the internet has greatly influenced me to keep an open mind to things that are different from me. From seeing other’s cultural norm and interacting with them, I learned that we should take a moment to reflect before passing judgement online. Also, carefully thinking if their values is worth being judge upon as well. These mindset has helped me to successful interact offline and online with friends, strangers, and families.
