Throughthe Internet, instead of having five good friends like her motherhad—a teenage girl thesedays can have 75 ‘friends’ that she talks to, flirts with andconfides in. On-line social groups like MySpace.com andThefacebook.com have become so popular that in Britain, 60% ofteenagers aged between 13 and 17 use them daily. Nowadays, you canmake a new friend with the click of a button.

Researcherssay that communication skills are being limited by the continuous useof this type of on-line activity and there are other dangers also.Computer game addiction is widespread among even younger childrenwith some spending over 60 hours a week playing ‘Second Life’ or‘World of War Craft.’ Some kids also give out personalinformation to strangers in chat rooms, not realizing the risksinvolved. When a teenager is too exhausted for school in themornings, after spending hours on-line, then it is surely time tomove the computer from the bedroom to a more visible family area.

     Onepositive aspect of the increased usage of the internet forcommunication purposes is that it has encouraged a new type ofopenness among young people. They think about what they say beforethey type a message and in this way many have found it easier toexpress themselves. They also display their creative efforts inwriting and music to millions of possible viewers over the internet.

    Inthe end, we will have to wait and see how these young people and theinternet will change the world as we know it and how we communicatewith each other.