Dear FRONTLINE,

Dear Frontline, I am the Principal of a High School in southern Virginia. I view the internet generation with both hope and horror.So much good infomration is there for research, fun, and knowledge.Getting what you need for homework, projects and reseach work has never been as easy or as interesting. The draw back that I see is that kids will say things on line that they will not say in person, such as insults and put downs.People will put pictures in chat spaces that they would never show in real life. Ask yourself why ? The answer is clear, we have inhibitions for a reason. There are places we should not tell dirty jokes, there are things that you do not let others see. But this internet social "blogging" allows what we have been taught not to do, which is bad. People can talk nasty and dirty without seeing the look on the other person's face, or getting "red-faced" themselves. Social skills are developed like when to cut into a conversation, when to to just listen, what you can say to your best friend verses what you can say to someone you hardly know. The internet social scene is violating all that we have been taught in the development of a conversation. The name calling, picking and making fun are easy to do in cyber space, and hard to do in person. So the kids are taking to the internet with it. This part of the internet use is breaking down society's "appropriate" and "accepted" behavior norms even worse than they already are !

Barbara Pittman
Dinwiddie, Virginia

Dear FRONTLINE,

I have just finished viewing you program entitled "growing up online," and while I do find it informative and relatively accurate on a number of points, I think that there are a number of things that may have not been considered fully. Firstly, as a member of the generation being focused upon by you program, I would have to agree on the fact that the younger populations of our society do spend a much larger time using computers and the internet than other groups. However, I think that it would be somewhat of a fallacy to assume that today's youth do nothing but entertain themselves through electronic means. Popular phenomenon like the Harry Potter series are just one indication of this, along with the unfailing popularity of athletics from schoolyard football to professional sports. Secondly, while it is true that the internet is largely unregulated and unmonitored, and most parents do not know how to control or monitor their children's online activities, it is not the sort of problem that I will likely continue to be pervasive for an extended period of time, for three reasons. The first reason is that programs like this and the concerns of parents create a demand for new programs that can be used to monitor and regulate what home computers can access, and a great demand in a booming technological marketplace is sure to be met. Secondly, as modern technology is becoming increasingly integrated into the workplace, adults and parents who may have been previously unfamiliar with using the internet and their computers will become more familiarized, giving them a greater ability to monitor their children's activities. Thirdly, as my generation grows older and starts families, we will still be keeping up on technology. We have been raised, as you have noted, to stay current on technology and constantly utilize it's advancements, so as our children grow and begin to use technology, we will likely be as knowledgeable as they are, or near to it, on the current modes of communication. This is not to say that people will accept or agree with every advancement that comes forward, but I believe that as a generation, we will at least understand it, and be able to regulate our children's access to that which we deem dangerous or unnecessary. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Jamestown, North Dakota

Dear FRONTLINE,

Being a network administrator in a private girl high school and a father of an anorexic daughter, I have seen affects the internet can have. I feel very blessed that my daughter wanted help to cure her disorder and she actually found over the internet a person that could help her. ...

In your article with Sara, I see a young lady that has great potential and [needs] help with her disorder. I have seen in my daughters disorder, the lack of medical help to not just keep eating disorder victoms alive, but the in-ability to work on the issues that are the center of this illness.

Because of this hard to find help, if Sara and her parents would be interested in talking to my daughter and her life safing friend, please send her parents my email address and I will connect them up. My heart goes out to parents with eating disorder daughters because I felt first hand the helplessness to protect my own daughter.

Jeff Fuell
Lawrenceburg, Indiana

FRONTLINE's editors respond:

As reported in the broadcast, Sara decided to tell her parents about her eating disorder and is seeking treatment.

Dear FRONTLINE,

Most of the pressure on kids to have an "online presence" comes from above. Middle school kids emulate high school kids. High school students want to be like college students. Marketing companies and ad agencies have zeroed in on this trend. Facebook needed to expand to high schools to keep their numbers up. Don't be surprised if you see a "Facebook Middle School" edition soon. As sites like MySpace and Facebook become as trite and boring as "America's Funniest Home Videos" did on T.V., those with a financial stake in these sites will furiously market, lure and entice kids back onto their sites.

I'd like to mention another Frontline special: "The Merchants of Cool." It goes hand in hand with "Growing Up Online." Sites like Facebook and MySpace have fooled teens into thinking that they are creating "their" page and expressing "their" individuality. In reality, these sites prey upon high school and college kids worst fear --the fear of not being cool. Thus the frenzy to have an online presence, as in: Look... I have proof that I'm cool... check out my MySpace/Facebook page to see photographic proof that I actually 1) have friends 2) go to parties 3) can be "wild and crazy"!

When I was in college, we called our facebook (the photos of the entire freshman class in booklet form) the "dogbook" and it was an object of mockery. We laughed at our own photos the most. Somewhere along the line, someone convinced college students that an online dogbook could be cool. Many fell for it.

Mary Lawler
Minneapolis, MN

FRONTLINE's editors respond:

Indeed, the producer of Growing Up Online also produced Merchants of Cool. Read an interview with her here.

Dear FRONTLINE,

I cannot believe the way that some of the teachers in this program are behaving. While the Woman was, indeed, "fighting the good fight", the Male teacher who advocated usage of Sparknotes as a subsitute for reading a book is EVERYTHING that is wrong with education in this nation. Furhtermore, he makes all of New Jersey look terrible. I am trying to become a teacher in New Jersey, and will be graduating in May. Yet, it is horrifying to me that these people who will lay down and give students full reign over a classroom are the same people who are making it impossible for good teachers to get a job in this state. Furthermore, while usage of technology as an AID is a perfectly logical and smart course of action. Yet relying on technology, as some of the teachers in the program had, is absolutely wrong in every way, and is a problem that is becoming endemic in America. Some of these kids can't use an index in a book, use an encyclopedia, do simple math, or even edit their writing without some piece of technology. By all means, use technology to help you teach- but dont let the technology teach for you. The moment these kids hit college, they'll be obliterated.Please don't fail these children.

Clark, NJ

Dear FRONTLINE,

Being Frontline's major demographic I assume, the majority, if not all, of concerned parents represented on the show were much older Baby Boomers - not that that's bad - but these parents are separated by two generations, rather than one. We're talking about a generation that, in general (I said in general), has no idea even what HTML is, let alone the allure of social networking sites like Myspace. Having seen the PC revolution in adult hindsight, through no fault of their own, I can appreciate why there is a generation gap problem, but what major `middle-child' generation of parents was subtly ignored?

You guessed it - xXx.

As a GenEx parent of a teenager, here are some thoughts: instead of just reading over shoulders and assuming that your child must be planning to meet Chester Molester on the playground, join myspace/facebook/whatever. I did. What's good for the gosling may also be good for the gander. That is, try your hand at understanding what all the fuss is about from your child's perspective. Add him or her as a friend - you might even have fun. As said, because our kids are far more internet savvy than we, don't underestimate their intelligence. Ask, but don't assume, if they know how to handle a possible predator, etc., and NIX the thong-hanging-out-the-pants self-portraits. (In addition, have a nice chat over obvious self-image issues, if that is the case.)

Myspace is still the boogieman, and perhaps it is contributing to today's "wasted youth" and so forth, etc, ad nauseum and infinitum. But to echo a fact from recent studies (even touched on in this episode), most of the kids myspacing are talking to the same friends they see at school, day in and day out. If junior stops all social contact and becomes an e-pal junkie, then maybe take more aggressive measures.

For the most part, Frontline presented intelligent arguments both for and against underage internetting. I do understand there are some risks, but I was glad that the program's focus was not to beat the proverbial dead horse, and instead explored some alternative concerns like Web Obsession and Cyber Bullying. So, thank you for representing something other than the typical alarmist drivel and oh-so-tired, sky-is-falling, slippery slope angsts such as The SINternet: a kiddy porn paradise, and the ever-classic fears surrounding internet predators. I am disappointed, however, that younger parents seemed to not have a voice. Please take this into future consideration as our generation has had its wisdom teeth pulled and is now heading into its forties.

Camas, Washington

Dear FRONTLINE,

I thought there were some awkward segments included in this documentary. One being the information expressed on the "underage drinking." The point seemed obscured by the parent who sent the emails. What was the desired effect of this segment?

Was it attempting to portray that the posting of videos and pictures online would be detrimental to the kids future? If so, it was not at all successful at that.

I cannot gather how the drinking connected with the documentary in any way other than the fact that the mother who overreacted sent the PTO of Chatham e-mails on the subject.

In my experience with the internet, being an avid user, teenagers who overuse the internet have parents who would bend over backwards for their children to go to social events such as that and with that, would concede to them using and experimenting with alcohol.

I believe that this subject is a little "taboo" in the eyes of America and placing it into a documentary on another controversial subject is going to add more flames to the fire.

Personally, I am sick of hearing about the "evils" of the internet. And especially about online predators; that subject is extremely overdone. Of course it is an important issue about the internet but I am sure that parents fear more of the unknown than their children meeting "predators".

What Parents should do, is stop placing the blame on the internet and take some responsibility for what their children do online. Properly educated children are less likely to become involved in dangerous situations.I have complete trust in my teens to know what information to divulge and what information not to.

I would have liked to see some positive aspects of the internet and what teens are doing positively over the internet. Some subjects I am surprised were omitted were online relationships which I understand are increasingly popular with teenagers, as well as online gaming. I for one know my son spends hours playing videos games online.

These subjects would let parents into a world completely foreign from their own. I am perfectly well educated on what Facebook and Myspace are, what their purpose is, and what dangers may be lurking in the shadows on them.

Lindsey G
Morristown, NJ

Dear FRONTLINE,

I love Frontline and felt that the program did not fully explore the other consequence of being so bold online such as the stuff you post on the Internet can follow you for the rest of your life.

I also would like to inform the parents that because you move 50 to 100 miles away from any major city your kids are no safer than most their dangers may differ only slightly. Parents also need to be parents and stop trying to be friends to their kids they need friends in their on peer groups. Parents should parents whether you live in an upscale gated communtiy or the middle of the suburbanites worst nightmare "the inner city."

Yes, I am a parent and have a sixteen year old. I have been online for almost three decades now and my daughter understands that "I" buy the computers and "I" pay for the connections and "I" will terminate her access in one keystroke.

Toni Savage-Oakford
Fort Worth, Texas

Dear FRONTLINE,

As a 2007 graduate of Morristown High School, I must say that I found your show incredibly entertaining. It's highly amusing, in fact, to see adults attempt to make sense of a world that they can't quite understand.

I have a few points that I would like to get out there:

-In high school, I took as many honors and AP courses as I could possibly have fit in. To put it simply, I used Sparknotes sometimes. I love to read, and do it for pleasure every day, but Sparknotes were helpful. Just because I have used them before does not cast me as illiterate, unintelligent, or too lazy to actually read. It just means that one day, I didn't have the time to. I think a lot of us feel that way.

-Growing up with the internet (and therefore, basically, the entire world) at our fingertips means that the majority of us know how to handle ourselves on it. We all do stupid things sometimes, but we're kids. STOP FREAKING OUT. The vast, vast majority of us are going to turn out spectacularly well. Really.

-My parents and I have an extremely close relationship,and they trusted me enough to leave my personal life (and my internet habits) alone. We are teenagers. We are probably going to be loud, crazy and stupid sometimes. We will probably drink alcohol. You do not need to inform the entire town's population of this fact. Were you really so pristine as a teen that you can cast stones? As they say, "People in glass houses..."

-Maybe parents should try just talking to their children as if they are actual humans with opinions, thoughts, and ideas of their own instead of some bizarre enigma that they, as adults, could never possibly understand. I actually LIKE my parents. Because we TALK. Not because they're hip and cool and try to understand my entire life. Because I can just talk to them. I think talking is a good idea, and highly recommend it.

I am a freshman at NYU now, and even having survived Morristown, and, apparently, "growing up online", I think it's reasonably safe to say that I turned out just fine.

Morristown, NJ

Dear FRONTLINE,

I go to Chatham High and the kids like the ones who went to the concert make me feel ashamed to be a part of this generation. It really irritates me that it's not about the music anymore. Concerts are not about listening to music anymore - they're just an opportunity to get drunk! And while they do this, they feel the need to take pictures and videos of themselves! It's like saying, "Look at me! I'm so funny! I'm such a rebel!" I try so hard to not be like them. I really don't want to be like the spoiled kids my age, the ones who take pictures of themselves in the mirror, whose idols consist of reality show stars and horrible musicians, whose only knowledge of current events is what they hear on E! It's hard, but especially after watching this documentary I will do my best to avoid being associated with these people.

Chatham, N.J.

Dear FRONTLINE,

I think there was a glaring omission in your report about children in the United States growing up in an increasingly digital world: the lack of reporting on kids of color, and kids or lower middle and working class, and poor families, and the internet. A much greater danger than even online bullying is that as society increases commercial connectedness, there is an increasing class and race divide between kids with significantly varying degrees of quality and quantity of access to the internet.

And beyond this issue. I have to say, as someone who is halfway through being 48, I was so embarrassed by most of those parents (who are probably in my immediate age bracket). Most of them acted very much as if they had just fallen off the technological wagon on to Main Street in the big city. If they are so extremely ignorant about the Internet, and they are concerned, why don't they and they're other digital-hick friends who are parents get together, set up MySpace pages and check it out. That would really put the fear of god into the kids; if their parents started wanting to be "friends" and posting comments! But no, people have children and then have idea what to do with them once the kids develop any autonomy. Old man shakes head, embarrassed by his peers.

Deran Ludd
Seattle, WA

Dear FRONTLINE,

Parents, get the computer out of your kid's bedroom and put it in the family room where you can see the screen. The worst-case scenario is that they may still sneak around for alternative access, but at least they will get the message that you care and you expect appropriate behavior when they are online. The best-case scenario is that they will be willing to show you what they are doing and explain it to you.

Bill Kaiser
Helena, MT

Dear FRONTLINE,

I enjoyed your report and thought that a part II would be in order that explores the corporations, media conglomerates, and business interests behind myspace.com, facebook.com, etc.

These sites exist to serve ads to young people with the expectation that they will spend either their parent's or their own money with the advertisers. Teens and Tweens are apparently a very profitable market.

I'd like to see a sophisticated and unbiased analysis of the marketing and capital muscle behind these networking sites, and why and how they target youth.

I'd like to know what the marketeers do with all this "free" information "volunteered" by young people about their preferences, families, friends, spending habits, and communities.

It would be interesting to take a look behind the curtain, no?

Jesse Alexander
Clinton, MD

FRONTLINE's editors respond:

See our Readings and Links page for some recent articles about social networking companies, including 60 MInutes' profile of 23-year-old Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Dear FRONTLINE,

I am a librarian at a liberal arts college in central Ohio. I am outraged by teacher Steve Maher's abdication of moral responsibility concerning his students' plagiarism. I have conducted workshops for our faculty on how to detect plagiarism and it sources (I call Sparknotes an electronic "term paper mill" in my presentation") and helped some professors try to find suspicious language that appears in their students' papers that is a radical departure over their standard output. Mr. Maher seems to have lost sight of what is ethical in our society. He does his students no favors by turning a blind eye to their intellectual slothfulness and their thievery of others' ideas and work. I heard Jeff Cohen, author of "Cable News Confidential," interviewed on my local NPR station yesterday, and he talked about how the major media outlets are turning Americans into docile consumers instead of engaged and critical citizens. The teenagers shown in "Growing Up Online" are frightening realizations of Mr. Cohen's analysis. So teachers like Mr. Maher are not preparing his students to be productive members of society as Thomas Jefferson envisioned, but he is enabling them to become unthinking and self-centered foils of corporate America.God help us all.

Paul Burnam
Westerville, Ohio

Dear FRONTLINE,

I am an adult who works online. I understand the need for many of the teens in the program to be so hooked into this valuable way we communicate. The resources available to young people now are invaluable.

I write and edit online content. Plagerism and the perception that "if it's on the internet, it must be true" are serious problems for those of us who work with content producers. The teacher who said we just may have to redefine cheating is SO WRONG. He comes across as making excuses for himself for not showing young people how to develope critical writing and thinking skills. For those of us who work and socialize online, these skills are vital.

My son is a student at a private school in NJ where he is in an AP English class. He has no intention of majoring in English in college, but the class discussions are valuable to him. He can think on his feet, analyze, craft an argument. Anyone who tried to spark note their way through a class like that just would not make it. He is just as tech savvy as the rest of them. He and his classmates all have active Facebook lives.

The teacher who wishes to "redefine" cheating is doing his students a huge disservice with his lowered expectations of them. They deserve more and are likely capabale of meeting higher expectations.

Janet McMonagle
Bergenfield, NJ