Growing Up Online?

This week I watched the PBS special about kids and teens "growing up" online.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/

I reviewed the posts of my classmates, Jenny, Sasha, and Emily.
I feel that I relate best with Emily's comments. The internet is so useful for learning, researching, and just having your own place. But at the same time it is a scary place if you don't know what you're doing and don't know how to react to anything you may stumble upon online. As the years go on the age of children who use the internet on a daily basis is decreasing. I still remember dial-up, and as Sasha mentioned, hated waiting for it to log on. All I used it for was instant messaging and some occasional research for a project, but then it was easier for me to go look around the library than online. Times have changed! Some people have accepted this, but others such as the PTO mother, Evan Skinner, have not. They obsess over the safety of their children online. Most kids online know what they're doing and getting into.
As Jenny mentioned, all of this time spent online is allowing us to be closer to far away family and friends, but I also feel that the internet has distanced us. Instead of venting to a close friend we write about it and then post it online; instead of calling someone to hang out we IM or text. I've noticed personally that I would rather text a person than call them most of the time. I am ashamed of this because I really like to be social and out-going in person, not just on Facebook/the internet.