Already on MySpace or Facebook? Facing objections to your online gaming or social networking habits? Here are a few articles to support your habit:
Online Network Helps Teenagers Cope with Serious Illness
Benefits of Online Interaction Outweigh Danger, Professor Says
Most Teens are Responsible Online, Study Shows
Poll Finds Teen Social Networking Educational
Social Networking Tools Give Teens Meaningful Ways to Use and Improve Reading and Writing Skills
That said, we do have some tips about online social networking:
MySpace and Facebook: Advice from ValleyTeens
And here are a few of our favorite online pastimes (we know you have your own favorites, too):
Teen Second Life is an international gathering place for teens 13-17 to make friends and to play, learn and create. In Second Life, teens can create and customize a digital self called an “avatar,” fly through an ever-changing 3D landscape, chat and socialize with other teens from all over the world, and build anything from skyscrapers to virtual vehicles. It’s more than a videogame and much more than an Internet chat program – it’s a boundless world of surprise and adventure that encourages teens to work together and use their imaginations.
Massive multi-player role playing game; you can also chat with players (known or unknown) while you do it!
Massive multi-player role playing game.
You can network in real life, too! Here are a few lists of after-school opportunities in towns in the Valley. (Don’t see your town here? Check in school or at town hall):
