The recognition of social networking websites has made the Web a digital public assembly place for all ages. By way of electronic mail, instantaneous messaging, chat rooms and textual content messaging, gossip has discovered a strategy to be unfold not solely domestically but additionally globally. How does this have an effect on tweens-a demographic made up of children between the ages of eight and 13?
The media has at all times addressed this common challenge. Presently, “Gossip Girl”: a sequence of young-adult novels by Cecily von Ziegesar (now the topic of a teen soap opera on the CW ) focuses on how expertise is used to unfold gossip and rumors amongst its foremost characters- younger, wealthy, college students who’re members of New York’s elite social circle. Although the TV sequence in addition to the books content material just isn’t appropriate for teenagers, it has a big fan base made up of tween ladies. They’re most definitely drawn to Gossip Girl due to its fashionable storyline but additionally as a result of some can establish with being the topic of Web gossip.
In the present day, as an alternative of being the topic of a malicious be aware handed round at school, a twelve-year-old girl might be taught that somebody has posted hateful feedback about her look or false rumors about her sexual conduct on the Web — the place hundreds of individuals might learn it. Sounds exhausting to consider. However this occurs more usually than you’d suppose. Has the media done something to assist tweens deal with this dangerous affect?
With the tween years being a vital time in a baby’s improvement, gossip and cyber bullying will be particularly exhausting hitting at this emotionally delicate time. Whereas the grownup themed “Gossip Girl” glamorizes it, parents should choose optimistic sources to assist mother and father educate themselves and their tween on the right way to fight this risk.
