Should Teenagers Be Given the Freedom to Surf the Internet? Discuss

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Accessing the Internet is part and parcel of a teenager's life in this day and age. Parents, educators and politicians are in a dilemma if teenagers should be given freedom to use the Internet. Unlike adults, teenagers are less mature to determine the suitability of certain websites. Hence, the jury is still out there as to whether teenagers should be given the freedom to surf the Internet. Resource sites like Google and Yahoo are used extensively by teenagers to obtain information for their homework and project assignments. However, one must be weary with websites like Wikipedia as the contributors may not be certified expert on the topics in question and hence may provide inaccurate information. For example, people can edit information on Wikipedia. In their search for information, teenagers may chance upon undesired sites like how to make a bomb or different methods to commit suicide. In the recent Boston Marathon bombing, the culprits learnt how to make bombs from the Internet. Although the Internet provides inaccurate or undesirable information, teenagers can on the hand, learn new recipes through sites like allrecipes.com. Therefore, while there are certainly benefits to using the Internet to source for good and helpful information, teenagers may unwittingly be corrupted with undesirable information that will negatively influence their minds and behaviour in the process. Such unruly behaviour is already exhibited in social network sites like Facebook or Twitter. Cyber bullies torment their victims with scratchy comments. Some of the victims had unfortunately crumbled under the bullying and committed suicide. In 2010, Tyler Clementi, an eighteen year old student from Rutgers University was taunted for kissing another male and he eventually jumped to his death. Teenagers may also unwittingly befriend strangers on Facebook, who have bad
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