A Teen Remembers

A Teen's Take On Tween Online Communities is a refreshing article. So much of what I have been reading is based on experts, teachers, and psychologists telling me what is happening in the tween world. Now I've got it 'straight from the horse's mouth. Don't get me wrong, I value the professional opinions and research, but it's a good idea to go to the source. Julia, a freshman in high school is not long past tweendom, so her insights are especially relevant. And surprisingly, social networking is the thing.
Before Facebook and MySpace there is a myriad of websites that tweens can learn their social networking skills. Julia's explanation of how these younger social networking sites operate was very informative. I don't have much experience with them and after reading this article the allure is much clearer. "A player gets an avatar and a house, and then plays games to earn currency to purchase more outfits, and furniture. While this might sound boring to adults, it can be appealing for a child who doesn’t have real world purchasing power, especially when combined with addicting casual games." Sounds like Farmville on Facebook. So much of the tween discussion centers on purchasing power and marketing. Business have been vilified for their aggressive marketing to tweens, but now we see that they want to flex the purchasing power that they have. Tweens are bombarded with so much 'stuff'. They are told they need, can't live without certain things or they are not 'cool'. It is so important for parents to be involved. If a tween doesn't have that involved parent then hopefully another adult will step in the gap and help guide them through.
Back to Julia. Julia claims that no matter how many safeguards are put into place on these websites, tweens will find a way to push and bend the rules if they really want. I appreciate her honestly. It is like teens and driving. They know what the speed limit is, but they just have to push that boundary. For the most part, the majority of tweens are appropriately using social networking, just as many teens are safe drivers. Let's give our kids credit, they do a great job even though the media only reports the negative.