anne-collier

Holy crap, the kids have their own lives on the Internet

Nicholas Carlson · 01/24/08 10:30AM

Looking for worried tones and ominous music? Then check out Frontline's "Growing Up Online." The premise of the PBS special: Kids rule the Internet. And they're totally out of control! "It's really hard to control what our kids are doing online. What we have here is the new Wild West. Nobody's really in charge," fulminates author Anne Collier. But then, whew, good old Danah Boyd straightens them out: "This is a generation that sees online not as a separate place that you go, but a continuation of their existence. It's socialization. It's learning about life." Which, online or off, is what always brings an end to childhood.