Youth today are born into a world where technology is dominant, Internet access is everywhere and cell phones are commonplace. The net-generation, as they are called does not know a world without pressing send to communicate with anyone around the world.

As such, parents may find themselves having trouble relating to their children, advertisers work overtime to relate to their young, trendy current/future market and members of the net-generation may feel any host of emotions from empowered to isolated due to the ever expanding web of technology.

It is known that the Internet is having a drastic effect on us all; however scholars continue to explore both the positive and negative aspects of frequent Internet use, both social and personal, in the lives of today’s young people.

The youth of today will be the leaders of tomorrow.  For this reason, it is important to understand how the net-generation uses and relates to the Internet. 

Advertisers understand that the young demographic is necessary to reach in order to generate profit today and in the future. Employers recognize cyber-youth’s knack for technology, yet wonder if this generation’s technological knowledge will harm their ability to engage in meaningful social interactions.  Parents often struggle to relate to their children who spend countless hours chatting with friends and surfing the Internet.

The prevalence of the Internet in the lives of today’s young has many wondering if this advancing technology hinders youth socially.

Understanding how young people use the Internet is the first step in reaching this blossoming demographic. According to author of "Grown Up Digital," Don Tapscott, the net-generation is not defined solely by their demographics. Rather, this new generation is defined by their life experiences and behaviors.

Topscott expresses the need for marketers to reach this generation in the arena with which they frequent: the Internet. According to Topscott, marketers must proceed using the mantra "give them options to buy their loyalty."

Growing up with the Internet causes this generation to find comfort online. This comfort allows users to do just about anything they wish immediately. In this way, marketers must follow suit, providing well managed and easy to navigate web pages.

The power to access information immediately via the Internet also gives Internet users the ability to quickly pass along influential knowledge.

Topscott says, "Imagine the power these children wield when they can access data their parents don't know exists. Imagine a 13-year old girl influencing her parents to buy a Volvo based on safety statistics she has downloaded from the Web."

As this generation matures, their reliance upon the Internet will continue to grow. Businesses must learn how to adapt their advertising models to reach this audience who will eventually make up the entire marketing bracket. Hartman, expresses the importance for the newspaper industry, in particular, to learn how to reach young readers.

Though vast majorities of today’s youth spend their time engaging in online communication, Bringall and Valey stress the importance of youth adopting traditional communication skills along with cyber communication skills.

The researchers note that, "people bring to their online interactions such baggage as their gender, stage in the life cycle, cultural background, socioeconomic status, and offline connections with others." Their social interaction study is intended for future generations who will potentially use the Internet as a primary source of communication for school, work and play.

The study concludes that the strength of the Internet may be that individuals have the freedom to choose with whom they interact. However, the main weakness of the Internet in the area of social interaction may be that the ability for selective interaction may interfere with the development of necessary social skills.

Older generations, such as the parents of cyber-youth often fear that their children will lack necessary social skills due to continued online communication. This fear extends to privacy, online safety and difficulties relating to children who prefer to spend time chatting online instead of engaging in family activity.
Tensions may arise in families as parents struggle to understand their children who have been born into a world that is very different from that of generation's past. Oftentimes, parents may find themselves relying on their children to introduce them to new technologies.

As the student teacher role shifts, parents may attempt to reclaim power. Mesch found that in households where children use the Internet most frequently for social purposes, family tensions might often result. In contrast, households where the Internet is primarily used for information purposes reported higher levels of family cohesion.

This may result from parents feeling for the safety and privacy of both their family and their child. Adults are aware of Internet perils of social networking sites, chat rooms, and cyber stalking and they fear that their children may be expressing themselves too openly on a personal level.

Though some parents and scholars worry that the Internet is interfering with the socialization of youth into every day society, many argue that frequent use of the Internet can have positive personal influences on children.

The Internet can often provide youth with a sense of empowerment as they begin to explore, communicate and express opinions online. In addition, the Internet can provide youth with a positive sense of self- identity as they develop their own personality and form a friendship network on the Internet.

Online, individuals can experience many freedoms. One of which is freedom of speech and communication without fear of repercussion. As youth use the Internet to learn about and explore the world, they also begin to form ideas about every day happenings.

Hauben explored the impact of netizenship, the potential of the Internet to make the extension of democracy happen, in South Korea.   According to Hauben, a netizen is “one who participates in the affairs of governing and making decisions about the Internet and about how the Internet can impact offline society.” Taking this idea further, a netizen can also be “one who is empowered by the Net to have an impact on politics, journalism, culture and other aspects of society.”

Certain uses of the Internet can allow every day citizens to take on a new role in their society. Individuals can develop their self-identity online in a way that allows them to speak out, make changes and voice opinions. Learn how netizens in South Korea used the Internet for empowerment.

Netizenship had an important impact on South Korean society, according to Hauben. Korean netizens used the Internet to create a collective community culture, organizing protests, campaigning for politicians and reviving Korean youth culture.

In our current American society we saw an increase in political participation via the Internet and we have come to understand the importance of networking online. However, as we move forward in our society we are seeing an end to print journalism and a rise in citizen media. Taking a hint from the positive influence of netizenship in South Korea, we can see how the Internet can empower youth political action and even inspire young newsreaders.

The Internet provides various opportunities for individuals to create and discover their self-identity. From chat-rooms to social networking sites, young users are allowed to create and share every aspect of their personality.  In some cases these online self-profiles can depict the real person, yet in others, the profiles may be fictitious.

Either way, youth are using social networks, chat-rooms, and websites to help themselves form and discover their own sense of self. Youth often come to social networks or online communities to meet and connect with others and therefore create a sense of belonging online when ostracized offline. Fraser studied how lesbigay teens may come to the Internet in search of a safe place, knowledge about their sexuality and a better sense of self-identity. 

Fraser found that as youth come to networking sites and create a profile, they are forced to confront their sense of self, checking boxes to demonstrate their personality traits, physical attributes and other qualities. Sometimes, teens search for the answer that they believe will be most attractive to others, sometimes presenting false answers in order to “belong.”

Previous research regarding belonging online has suggested that either you belong or you do not belong. However, Fraser discovered that the idea of belonging could also be a “continuum of negations whereby one may belong and not belong at the same time.”

Though creating Internet profiles may constrain freedom as you are forced to check-mark attributes to create an “online body” this also provides a place where teens, lesbigay teens in particular, can create a self-identity without fear of discovery or recognition by unwanted viewers. According to Fraser, “technology both creates and can be used to create understandings of what it means to be lesbigay.”

Teens that are seeking to develop a new identity or discover their true self can use the Internet to build and advance their individuality.  Online teens can feel a sense of empowerment as they confront themselves, connection as they interact with others and understanding as they learn about their sexuality, interests, and disinterests.

Young people can gain a variety of knowledge and skills from their time spent on the Internet. The ability to learn and communicate with ease provides the net-generation with experiences that older generations are only now coming to understand. In this way, we can learn to see the merits of the Internet for the old and young and better understand how to utilize the benefits of the Internet while also taking the time to determine how to alleviate its potential ill effects.