Blogs are attractive because they are time-stamped, so that the writer can tell when a friend’s comment arrived. They can be updated frequently and an unlimited amount of material can be written at no cost. To facilitate back-and-forth conversations, postings are done instantaneously so thoughts and responses can be posted as they occur, simulating a live conversation. If someone makes a comment that the MySpacer wants to follow up on in “real time,” IM is readily available.

As you saw with Janice, the act of writing down problems and getting advice and feedback can be very therapeutic. But it also comes at a price, according to Nancy Willard, Director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use: “Teens will argue that their posts on social networking sites are part of their private lives. Public posts are not private.”

Anyone can read a blog. Although many parents who are boomers or Gen Xers feel that it is problematic to write about private feelings in a public forum, according to the teens that I interviewed this lack of privacy does not concern them. Hank, a 19-year-old, told me:“I see blogging as sorta like reality TV. When you watch Survivor or Next people are honest and say what they feel. Sometimes it hurts other people like when some dude Nexts a girl after just seeing her walk off the bus, but I like being able to go on MySpace and just write down what I am feeling at the moment. I think I can be more honest than if I was talking to a friend on the phone or even face-to-face.”

When I asked David Huffaker, coauthor of Gender, Identity, and Language Use in Teenage Blogs what he felt were the positive aspects of blogging, he said, “I have always believed that blogs are useful for adolescent development in several ways. First, they allow teens to explore a personal narrative and thus experiment and construct an online (and offline) identity. As adolescents approach adulthood, it is imperative that they begin to construct a cohesive narrative, or life story. Second, blogs foster community through the reading, commenting, and linking with other bloggers. Perhaps the most important aspect of adolescent development is the cultivation of friendships and peer relationships. Third, it promotes literacy development through the written and multimedia posts that bloggers devise. Of course, improving verbal and digital literacy is vital to success in the real world.”

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Issue: April 2008