Information Related to "Untangling the Web"
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Matching
our readership's ready acceptance of the Web, Vertical Thought and
its predecessor, Youth United, have always been e-magazines. Unlike
many publications that began as printed magazines and then moved to the
Web, our Internet presence came first. Three years later we changed our
name and began printing our magazine as well as making it available online.
Of course, it's one thing to be techno-savvy and another to be techno-smart. A recent incident illustrated that the ability to use the Internet doesn't necessarily represent intelligence or vertical thinking.
At Brooklyn High School on Long Island, New York, it was discovered that three 14-year-old girls beat up a 12-year-old girl because they claimed that the victim had told lies about them on the Internet. Not only did the bullies engage in ugly, ungodly conduct, they had someone film the beating and then posted it on the Internet.
Even though the beating took place on school grounds, school administrators had no knowledge of the incident until they were told of the video. Apparently the perpetrators decided to put the incident on the Web because others had filmed fights and posted them.
What this incident illustrates is the fact that the Internet is a highly public forum. What we post has the potential to be viewed by anyone with Internet access. Sadly, many have posted immodest pictures or made statements that cost them opportunities at colleges and jobs. They were surprised that people saw them on the Internet. Because so many people have created their own personalized pages, this issue of Vertical Thought addresses this subject in our lead article: "Facebook and MySpace: A Young Christian's Guide to Using Social Network Sites."
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Table of Contents that includes "Untangling the Web"
Other Articles by David Treybig
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