Youth Opinion

Whenever the Internet is connected to a horrible event, like the mass suicide in Rancho Santa Fe, worry arises over what unsupervised teens are really finding on the Net. Teens talked with JIM BLAIR about how they use the Internet, what sorts of odd or disturbing things they’ve found by accident or design in their surfing and how they handle it. James Elias, a sociologist at Cal State Northridge, also comments on the sophistication of teen about the Internet.

SUPAKORN CHANCHOWANICH

Junior, Los Angeles High School magnet program

Basically I spend about three or four hours [a day] working on the computer, typing my essays and doing some research on the Internet. I use it for doing photography for my journalism class and creating a web page for the school.

The best thing about the Internet is that it helps me to communicate with other people and find information I need from all over the world. When I come across bad things [on the Internet]--I’ve seen a lot of racism and discrimination, bad language and pornography--I have to realize that it is bad and use my own judgment whether to access it or not. I don’t think it’s good to censor everybody.

JOEL SWINSON

Sophomore, El Camino Real High School

Probably the best part of the Internet experience for me is being able to have access to information whenever I want it at the stroke of a key and able to answer any question I could have in one second.

Actually, that group [Heaven’s Gate] in San Diego had a Web page. Their theme seemed to make sense, but it didn’t.

It’s just like going outside. The Internet is basically another community except instead of having to get up and walk outside you can just sit at your computer.

[Parents] can put as much security on as you want, but it basically comes down to having a heart-to-heart talk with your child. That’s what my mom did. She just said she would appreciate it if I stayed away from [inappropriate sites] and she knew I was adult enough to handle it.

CHRISTIAN TORRES

Freshman, Eagle Rock High School

I began working with computers in fifth grade. There was a computer lab that used to have a lot of problems and I got very interested in them and particularly with networks. I got into the Internet last year when the LAUSD started offering free accounts to access the Internet.

I’ve used it for e-mail and IRC [Internet Relay Chat), which you can use to talk to other people over the Internet on-line, real time.

One of the bad things about that is that there is no restriction on the type of chat rooms that you can go to and when you open one you can see the craziest things. There are some areas kids can get into, certain areas for downloading [pornographic] pictures and things like that. If you use a search engine, typing one word might give you things you might not expect to get. There have been times when I’ve used it for research for my health class [on the subject of] alcohol and if I typed anything about alcohol it would take you into areas for people who use alcohol and other drugs.

ADAM PEARLSTEIN

Sophomore, Palisades High School, Pacific Palisades

The Internet is a good place to get information. One of the problems, though, is that I don’t really trust all the information I get. Anyone can write a site. They can say what they want to. I [have] to see if they’re a credible source. I trust Encyclopedia Britannica more than some guy I’ve never heard of.

It’s all so disorganized, you have to be able to find whatever you want to find. These search engines work a little bit, but they just locate keywords and you can find a site totally different than what you’re looking for. [For example] I was searching for information on horses and [was referred] to a pornographic site.

Do I think concerns about the Internet are overrated? Yes, I do. One bad thing happens and people are overreacting like it’s the most horrible thing in the world.

JAMES ELIAS

Professor, Department of Sociology, Cal State Northridge

There are negatives to the Internet. Because it’s available to almost anyone who wants to set up a Web page, you’re going to get a lot of material of limited value. Anyone who is lonely or unhappy may use chat rooms as a source of interpersonal relations and could, in some cases, develop an improper relationship, one with no basis in personal contact.

But I think a lot of people underestimate the knowledge and sophistication of their own children. Most of the high school students I’ve seen and talked with who are using the Internet can very well distinguish what is worthwhile. They think a lot of the stuff is gross or funny and they simply pass it by. I was asking a high school student just this semester whether he logs on to check out Playboy magazine. He laughed and he said, “I can, my father has it bookmarked. He looks at it but I don’t see much there to look at.”