Discussion Board Forum 4

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Topic: The Age of the Internet

“The Internet is transforming the experience of growing up in America. It is also transforming the job of being a parent in America. The Internet brings the world — the good, the bad, and the ugly — to the American family’s doorstep” (Third Way Culture Project, 2005).

In the United States, most adolescents have internet connections at home, and they spend a significant amount of time online in various capacities (e.g., socializing, accessing information, shopping, entertaining themselves etc.). While the internet is a powerful and useful tool, it also has the potential to cause enormous harm to the people who utilize it. For example, along with the various opportunities available for legitimate social networking, there comes the potential for sexual predators to victimize both children and adolescents.

After reading the article by Nathalie Louge (2006) entitled “Adolescents and the Internet” (found in the Reading & Study folder of Module/Week 7), please address the following issues:

1.Identify and describe at least one advantage of internet use for adolescents, and provide an example of this benefit in action from your life or the life of someone you know.

2.Identify and describe at least one risk of internet use for adolescents, and provide an example of this hazard from your life or the life of someone that you know.

3.Protecting adolescents from the pitfalls of internet use is a crucial element of modern-day parenting. Please identity and describe at least one way that parents can help their adolescents to avoid the dangers of the internet as well as one way that parents can encourage their adolescents to develop self-control and restraint when using the internet. (Hint: Here are some scriptures that will assist you in processing this prompt: 1 Cor. 9:25, Prov. 25:16, 1 Cor. 9:27, Dan. 1:12-16.)

Please make sure that you cite material from the Louge (2006) article and the Bible as you address these three main issues, and be sure to format your citations according to current APA guidelines. Also, all of your posts should be written in a formal, college-level tone that conforms to the rules of Standard Written English grammar, syntax, diction, and punctuation.