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Introduction 

Our children are navigating an online world that can seem foreign and overwhelming to us as parents, but for our children, navigating this ever-evolving Internet, often referred to as Web 2.0, seems as natural as breathing. The evolving web is as much about what people upload as what they download. Cheaper, more accessible technologies now allow anyone to create a website, upload a video, or design and develop personal online spaces. The Web 2.0 world is mobile, multidirectional, and multi-media in format, allowing people to communicate through whichever medium they prefer.

The World Wide Web has transformed from a collection of websites to a full-fledged communicative platform, changing where and how we interact, share, and seek information. “Web 2.0” represents a paradigm shift in the way the Internet is used, facilitating creativity, information sharing, online communities, and collaboration among users.


Youth Online Identity

 

Kids have historically used the Internet for many social purposes such as e-mailing and instant messaging. More recently, their means of interacting online have evolved to include activities such as creating and posting profiles and YouTube videos, blogging, and mobile texting.

 

The Internet allows kids to stay in touch and up to date with old friends and maintain large circles of friends from wherever they are. Researchers and psychologists say teens are using the web as a relatively safe place to try on different personas, interact, and figure out who they are in an important process of self-actualization. Teens are developing a fluency in expressing themselves through multiple types of digital media—most notably through the use of social networking sites.


Internet Safety 101SM Program Video: 'Web 2.0'