Recent studies have shown that more than half of all teens use one of the many online social networking sites. On this edition of Teen Connection, a collection of young people and adult experts will discuss sites like Facebook and MySpace and the importance of being cautious in an online environment.
The program’s panel of young people includes students from Denmark and Green Bay Preble High Schools. In addition to the featured young people, this Teen Connection’spanel will also include Tim Meyer, a professor in the Information Sciences department at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Together, the panel will discuss the issues faced by teens as they use Internet sites likeFacebook, MySpace, YouTube and others for online interaction and entertainment. While the sites can be useful networking tools, there are potential dangers that will be addressed. Some of the topics of cautionary interest include the anonymity of potential online predators and the lasting effects of personal content and information that is posted online.
“I think it’s very important for our youth to look at what they do on the Internet. And to be very careful about what they post on the Internet because anything they can potentially put out there in the Internet is something that could be accessible in the future by other people who they may not want to see it.”
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen
The program also will feature video interviews with Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and University of Wisconsin-Madison Political Science Professor Howard Schweber. Van Hollen will discuss the potential predatory side of social networking sites, including the meanings behind some of the acronym-based shorthand used by many teens while chatting online. Schweber, an expert on the First Amendment, will share his concerns about people who have been wrongly persecuted in job searches and other areas based on things they have posted to publicly accessible Internet sites.
Toll-free phone service is provided by Nsight Long Distance.
Host Kathryn Bracho appears courtesy of WBAY-TV/Green Bay.
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