Teenagers 'spend an average of 31 hours online' - Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/4574792/Teenagers-...

They spend some three and a half hours communicating with friends on MSN, and around two hours on YouTube and in chat rooms.

Just over an hour is devoted to looking up cosmetic surgery procedures such as how to enlarge breasts and get collagen implants, an hour and a half is spent on family planning and pregnancy websites and one hour 35 minutes is spent investigating diets and weight loss.

One in four teenagers of the 1,000 polled said they regularly spoke to strangers online but thought it harmless.

If you wonder whether or not your teens talk to unknown people online, the answer is yes. Without a doubt.

If you wonder whether or not it is dangerous, consider this: have you taught your teenager to be a freethinking individual who has a good grasp of what qualifies as a safe situation and what does not?

I don’t think the answer to these type of problems is trying to add another lock and key to the American upbringing: after all, the internet did not mark the beginning of kidnapping or sexual abuse. I think what we really need to examine is how our culture creates teenagers who are barely able to chew their own food without the help of their parents, much less make the adult decisions that they are inevitably going to be faced with.

As for the amount of time spent online, I have to say that I think the internet has the ability to be an amazing portal of information and socialization, a place to expand horizons and create their own unique identities. Out of of the places I spent my time as a teenager, I can say with certainty that I got in far more trouble within the walls of my highschool than I ever did online.

Twitter spam. Really? Are you even paying attention? I’ll say it again, you choose who you follow. If you’re following a newsbot, you’re going to get news spam. If you follow a good friend who can’t stop RTing, you’re going to to get retweet spam, but complaining about it is like standing the middle of a freeway asking, “Why do these cars keep hitting me?

Rands In Repose

(download)

Beth Orton covers Cat Stevens - Wild World

Now that I’ve lost everything to you
You say you wanna start something new
And it’s breaking my heart you’re leaving
Baby, I’m grieving
But if you wanna leave, take good care
Hope you have a lot of nice things to wear
But then a lot of nice things turn bad out there

Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world
It’s hard to get by just upon a smile
Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world
and I’ll always remember you like a child, girl

You know I’ve seen a lot of what the world can do
And it’s breakin’ my heart in two
Because I never wanna see you sad, girl
Don’t be a bad girl
But if you wanna leave, take good care
Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there
But just remember there’s a lot of bad and beware