Tuesday, January 22, 2008

TV program tonight (9 pm) to explore online lives of teens

The PBS series Frontline will feature a new episode tonight (9 pm on channel 13) called "Growing Up Online" that explores the online lives of teens today. Here's how PBS describes it:

MySpace. YouTube. Facebook. Nearly every teen in America is on the Internet every day, socializing with friends and strangers alike, "trying on" identities, and building a virtual profile of themselves--one that many kids insist is a more honest depiction of who they really are than the person they portray at
home or in school.

In "Growing Up Online," FRONTLINE peers inside the world of this cyber-savvy generation through the eyes of teens and their parents, who often find themselves on opposite sides of a new digital divide. From cyberbullying to instant "Internet fame," to the specter of online sexual predators, FRONTLINE producer Rachel Dretzin investigates the risks, realities and misconceptions of teenage self-expression on the World Wide Web.

Felicia R. Lee at the New York Times wrote up a review of the program, which you can read here. I'll try to remember to tape it tonight, as I doubt I'll have a chance to watch it during the broadcast; if you miss it too, ask me for a copy of the tape.

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