Internet & Social Networking
- Mar 3
- 2010
Editor’s Web Note: Talk about brain drain. Multi-tasking is the biggest mass waste of our evolved brain to date. As you see from the Hewlett Packard-commissioned study that I cite below, constant tending to emails, texts, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc., while you’re trying to work makes you twice as dumb as if you smoked a joint. Or didn’t sleep at all the night before. Parents need to insist on electronic-free homework time for their kids. In addition to better grades, they will feel less stressed. — Lauren Forcella
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: I’m a junior and my grades are suffering. My dad says it’s because I’m on Facebook and listening to music while I do homework. I don’t know what to believe. All of my friends do it and their parents never say anything. I have a C- in almost all my classes. Is it really…
- May 27
- 2009
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: This girl at my school added me as a friend on Facebook and we started talking online and texting and passed a lot of personal information back and forth. The thing is, we had only talked in person twice, and now we knew so much about each other from talking online that…
- Apr 18
- 2007
Dear Straight Talk: I’m in eighth grade and I’m glad you did a column on cyber-bullying. Last year an internet hate group formed when “Rachel” got really mad at “Sarah” for supposedly talking behind her back. In revenge, Rachel started a MySpace page called “WOS” for “War on Sarah.” Nobody…
- Apr 4
- 2007
Dear Straight Talk: Regarding your recent columns on MySpace, I would like to offer my opinion. I have been pressured to join MySpace and Facebook, but I don’t care to sit in front of a computer communicating with people I may or may not know. I use email to communicate with colleagues and…
- Feb 14
- 2007
Dear Straight Talk: After reading your column on MySpace, I wanted to say that I use MySpace to track my 16-year-old son and his friends. A lot of parents do this now. I feel a little bad about it, but how else do I find out if he’s staying out of trouble? Am I doing something terribly…
- Jan 31
- 2007
Dear Straight Talk: My daughter is 16 and she is addicted to MySpace. She’ll spend every after-school hour on there if I let her—which happens a lot as I often work late. I’m a single dad and I’m wondering how safe this medium is and how much time the average teen spends on it. I’m aware of…
