Internet Use, Social

Direct forms of Communication

Direct forms of communication include email, instant messaging, chat rooms, and discussion boards, forums, and newsgroups.

Email. Email allows a person to send a letter or mail to another person electronically and is one of the commonest forms of Internet communication.

Instant messaging (IM). Instant messaging allows real-time, synchronous communication. It usually takes place between two people who know each other and is akin to having a conversation using written text instead of spoken words. However, most instant messaging programs today allow voice and video communications as well. Text is the commonest method of IM communication because it does not require the faster Internet connections needed for voice and video communication. In addition, instant messaging is no longer limited to the computer; most cell phones are enabled with text messaging, which allows a similar type of communication (and sometimes uses the same instant messaging programs as the computer).

Chat rooms. Chat rooms are similar to instant messaging programs, in that they are in text and synchronous. One difference, however, is the greater possibility that, in chat rooms people may not know each other. And in chat rooms, one is also more likely to communicate with a group of people rather than only one other person. Chat rooms generally are associated with a topic, such as gay and lesbian teens.

Discussion boards, forums, and newsgroups. Like chat rooms, these are associated with particular topics, but the communication is asynchronous. A discussion board, forum, or newsgroup is very much like a room with a big board, where individuals can put a message on the board for everyone to see, and other individuals can respond to the message. In some cases, discussion boards have other uses as well, such as posting event calendars, putting up pictures and files, and polling members about various topics of interest.

Indirect forms of Communication

In indirect forms of communication, users communicate with the general Internet public. To a great extent, communication is one-way; the communicator speaks to the Internet public more than the Internet public communicates with the creator. Three indirect forms of communication are websites, blogs, and webcams.

Websites. Some individuals may create websites to express themselves, whether it be to display their artwork, to express their opinions, or to provide information.

Blogs. Blogs (short for weblogs) generally do the same thing as websites; however, blogs are usually in diary format. Individuals can journal their expressions daily, weekly, monthly, or irregularly (such as when important events occur).

Webcams. It is possible to broadcast video images via a webcam (short for web camera) for the Internet public to view. Generally, access to video images is restricted to people with permission to view the webcam. This is another way adolescents can express themselves, but in a dynamic, real-time fashion.

The Internet as a Social Forum

One of the more powerful capacities of the Internet is to gather people of similar interests together, from one's own high school to anywhere across the globe. This ability has led to the creation of online communities, in which adolescents with similar interests can connect and communicate with each other. Generally, these communities take the form of chat rooms, discussion boards, forums, or newsgroups. The nature of the interests vary widely; for example, it may deal with core issues that an adolescent is facing, such as religion, or it may be involve finding someone with whom to develop a friendship. The Internet is also the ultimate free speech space, which works in both positive and negative ways. In a positive sense, the Internet allows adolescents who may be facing unpopular issues, concerns, or ideas to find others to communicate with. For instance, adolescents who may be gay or lesbian can find others and talk with them about problems or concerns they might be facing. In a negative sense, it may allow adolescents with negative ideas, tendencies, or concerns to find similar others and may help to propagate these negative tendencies. One example of these negative possibilities are websites directed to adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Anorexic adolescents can find groups and websites that will help them maintain the disorder and cheat the systems designed to help them overcome it. These adolescents believe that anorexia nervosa is a way of life rather than a disorder, and they affectionately call their disorder “Ana.”

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