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opin!on 14 Facebook Snoop by Kristine Morgan, Indianapolis, IN The other day, my friend Alex called me from hundreds of miles away, saying that she had something important to tell me. Thanks to Facebook, though, I was already up on the news. Facebook (and other social networking websites) allow people from all over the world not only to connect with one another but also to snoop on each other. Just a few years ago, people relied solely on word of mouth and landline telephones to stay informed, but now teenagers often opt to browse through Facebook pages that document their friends’ lives. As with anything, there are positives and negatives to Facebook. For ideas on gifts, you can simply check out your friends’ Interests and Favorites. Top Friends, the supreme revenge tool, often stirs up the most drama, especially when updated or rearranged. Wall-to-Wall is great for following specific conversations and picking up juicy gossip. The Photos link usually provides a more animated view of what people are doing, whom they hang out with, where they go, and also what mischief they’ve been up to. Because people are posting large portions of their lives on the Internet, I’m beginning to wonder if privacy has become obsolete. Facebook is powerful, and when used appropriately, it’s a great communication and social tool. But, like anything else, too much of a good thing often has not-so-great results. People Twilight on Equality by Catherine Stafford, New Paltz, NY It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that while reading Twilight I was “dazzled” (pun intended). Almost anyone alive for the past couple of months is certainly aware of the saga, which has received excited acclaim not only from teenagers worldwide but also such esteemed reviewers as The New York Times and Publishers Weekly. So why do I have a problem with it? Twilight is about Bella Swan, a teen who moves to a new town and is immediately adored by everyone. She instantly has several men vying for her attention and a couple of pretty nice friends as well. Her adoration of classic books would imply that she is at least marginally intelligent. Then she meets Edward Cullen (who has a unique background that is not relevant here), and as their relationship grows, so does her obsession, until it consumes her. Seems harmless, right? Actually, no. Bella is depicted as an evil temptress trying to persuade a morally honorable man into evil, while he at- Edward and Bella are a modern Adam and Eve Teen Ink • APRIL ’09 I’m beginning to wonder if privacy has become obsolete tempts to keep their virtues intact. Succinctly, Edward and Bella are a modern Adam and Eve. But the book goes further in asserting that women are inferior to men. Every time Bella is faced with a conflict and has to make a choice, Edward swoops in to save her, because apparently she can’t possibly decide on her own. He goes beyond protective to borderline abusive in Twilight, but Bella justifies it as “love” every time. When Edward dumps her for a couple months in New Moon, Bella becomes seriously depressed and dangerous to herself. All the female characters in this series eventually portray similar helplessness. Even the first relationship introduced in the book – that of Bella’s mother and stepfather – is sexist. Bella expresses concern about leaving her mother, but then reasons that it’s okay now that Phil is looking after her. What’s even more ridiculous is that many female readers look up to Bella! Her situation is idealized. After finding Edward, Bella is happy only when she is with him. She feels that he is her one true purpose in life. So what are girls who read the novels left wanting? Their own Edward, of course! Not only do they want one – they need one. The fact that so many intelligent young men and women have been sucked into the Twilight series and have swallowed its sexist manifesto has me worried about the future of gender equality. ✎ don’t normally keep their bedroom doors open while changing clothes, so why would they post photographs of themselves nearly naked on the Internet? Because users can learn so much from a simple five-minute scan of someone’s profile, it’s important for teens to be aware of what they post. When browsing through profiles, I often find myself wondering whether their owners know the meaning of public forum. Sure, Facebook allows its users to make their profiles visible only to friends, but now the site’s creators are granting access to other parties because of concerns about controversial content. According to The GW Hatchet (George Washington University’s student newspaper), students should be careful about revealing information on Facebook and other websites because employers, college admissions officers, marketers, and parents can use the website too. In 2005, in fact, one GWU freshman’s parents found Facebook photos of him drinking and threatened to take him out of school unless he changed his behavior. According to The Wall Street Journal, 10 percent of admissions officers from 500 surveyed colleges used social networking websites during the application review process. Of these, 38 percent found content that negatively affected their view of an applicant. So, for several reasons, personal lives should remain personal. Young people need to realize that their Facebook pages are public representations of themselves. Often I hear students complain when gossip about their personal lives spreads around school, but when they volunteer this information online, should they be surprised? People wonder why they are labeled at school, but what they post on Facebook often fuels their reputation. Yes, I am a Facebook snoop. The website is great when I want to see what someone’s prom dress looks like, or when I want to read a friend’s thoughts on politics – but some things just should not be posted. There’s a difference between acceptable and excessive. ✎ A Caring Rebellion by Morgan Tamez, Heath, TX Vegans can be defined as strict vegetarians who do not eat meat, dairy products, and eggs. This definition, though, only touches the surface of what a vegan lifestyle entails. Vegans not only abstain from consuming meat or animal byproducts, but they also do not wear wool, fur, and leather, and a majority also take a stand against related issues such as animal testing, vivisection, sexism, workers’ rights, and animal equality. Veganism is a compas- sionate rebellion in that the goal is to break away from culturally conditioned perceptions about food and live a life that minimizes your harmful impact on Earth and all its inhabitants. Research is accumulating that meat-eating and mechanized farming methods are harming the environment, contributing to world hunger, and detrimentally affecting the health of consumers. By avoiding these industries, vegans build healthier and more sustainable life habits that benefit our planet and increase their longevity. What’s the point, though? Many critics of veganism claim that one individual can’t break the institution of flesh consumption. Every revolution One vegan can create dissonance in a room full of omnivores Photo by Chyla Pugh, El Dorado, KS faces opposition. Yet the very presence of strong, healthy vegans is a testament to the success of such a lifestyle. Hardly a day goes by that I’m not engaged in a discussion about my eating habits, and questioned – even harassed – by curious classmates. One vegan individual can create cognitive dissonance in a room full of omnivores. If one person is made to reconsider the morality of his or her actions, if only for a moment, that is a success for compassion. A person’s ethics and motivations are results of his or her individual experiences or consciousness, but it’s safe to assume that vegans are unified in their wish to make a difference in the world through everyday choices. Instead of buying a cosmetic that was tested on an innocent animal, a thoughtful vegan opts for products with a crueltyfree promise. A vegan understands that the animals the world thoughtlessly exploits have the capacity for suffering and enjoyment and wishes to end the perversion of life that Western industry calls “nutrition.” It is my goal as a vegan to be a living demonstration of my consistent choices as an individual, and to encourage others to do the same. ✎ COMMENT ON ANY ARTICLE AT TEENINK.COM USING THE ADVANCED SEARCH
Teach Your Children Well by Laura Chicoine, Arlington Heights, IL Ilove running. Some days I struggle up Mount Everest and other days I sprint across the Great Plains. It’s how I learned the names of streets. It’s how I exercise. It’s how I stay sane, or at least try to. It’s an endorphin therapy, my lactic acid antidepressant. As I ran around Lake Arlington for what seemed like the five thousandth time, nearly stepping in yet another pile of goose poop, the song “The Pretender” by Jackson Browne blasted in my headphones. Realizing that I had grabbed my dad’s MP3 player instead of mine, I navigate around a pair of walkers, almost tripping over a stroller the size of my bed, and begin listening to the words. “I’m going to be a happy idiot/And struggle for the legal tender/ Where the ads take aim and lay their claim/To the heart and the soul of the spender.” I couldn’t help but wonder, where have all the pretenders gone? Although I occasionally played on the computer (when I could unseat my older sisters), I spent the majority of my childhood outside. I was a princess; the backyard was my kingdom, the swingset my castle, and the neighbor’s dog a fire-breathing dragon. Today, pretending gets cut from the team. Dress-up clothes, dolls, and building blocks that served as toys since before King Tut, have been tossed aside. Zapf, creator of the pooing-peeing-cryingsleeping-teething Chou Chou dolls, states on its website, “Playing with dolls also addresses and supports social skills such as loving, caring, empathy, and accepting responsibility.” Apparently, parents no longer possess the ability to teach such lessons. LeapFrog provides an in-depth and profound explanation of its products: “Interactive toys that teach children basic skills.” My seven-year-old cousin could supply a more sophisticated definition! Scientists have discovered that during the first three years of a baby’s life, the brain forms many synapses (intersection points between neurons). Proper stimulation contributes to better brain development. As a result, companies like Leap - Frog have created learning toys specifically for children under three. They include learning laptops, inter - active puzzles, and lifelike dolls. Fisher-Price sells the Songs & Smiles Discovery Gym (when did two pieces of plastic, a mat, and a few stuffed animals constitute a gym?), the Laugh & Learn Learning Home Playset (saying it twice doesn’t make it more educational), and the Smart Bounce & Spin Pony (preparing children for their first drunken mechanical bull ride?). Despite the ridiculous names, parents sprint toward these toys. According to Fortune, Americans spent $2.5 billion on “learning” toys in 2005. Corporations simply put the word learn in the name and the toys fly off shelves. Walmart and Target sell them at relatively low prices, so even Joe the Plumber can afford them. The learning toy producers deserve a prize for their online advertising methods. In addition to statistics, diversions, and testimonials, their websites include a plethora of information about the benefits of their products, the Howard Gardner model of Multiple Intelligences, reviews, and articles. Companies convince parents that in today’s fast-paced society, learning toys provide the only way for parents to work, cook, or even relax for a few minutes. Before parents realize it, they’re convinced that their child needs one (or the parent needs a Valium). Fisher-Price groups its toys into educational categories like Laugh & Learn (infant role-play), Fun 2 Learn (preschooler role-play), Smart Cycle (active learning), and Computer Cool School (computer-based learning). The company describes the Smart Cycle as “a stationary bike, a learning center, and an arcade game system – all rolled into one!” The child pedals and moves the handlebars to steer a car onscreen, stopping at locations such as Math Mountain, Shape Lake, Number Fields, and Letter Creek. (Why wait until 16 when kids can have their first driving lesson at age three?) The unit costs $100 (of course, batteries aren’t included), which might seem like a good investment if it benefits the child. No pain, no gain. However, cheaper and more effective methods of exercising children’s brains exist. Parent and child can take a walk together and count the number of speed limit signs in the neighborhood, or point out the colors and shapes of road signs. This encourages parent-child interaction and, for the environmentally aware parents, doesn’t involve the manufacture of toys in pollution-producing factories. I have a confession. I fell for the marketing ploys of the toy companies just like those gullible parents. In fifth grade, I became convinced that the LeapFrog iQuest would help me with my schoolwork, improve my grades, and make me the smartest girl in my class. The handheld electronic game, the size of a disposable camera, had study guides and quizzes for a fifth grade curriculum. I spent $60 of my own money to buy the iQuest and an additional $5 million on cartridges specific to the textbooks I used at school. While it initially entertained me, it didn’t do anything except increase the amount of time I studied the information. My test scores didn’t break any records or even improve. Me is a happy idiot. Recent studies show that no lasting Do electronic toys short circuit the learning process? VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLES ON TEENINK.COM AND TEEN INK RAW damage occurs if parents neglect to “properly stimulate” their child’s brain before the age of three. Sara Mead, a senior policy analyst with Education Sector, states there is no evidence that the first three years “are a singular window for growth that slams shut once children turn three.” A government-funded two-year study by the University of Stirling found that electronic learning toys had no recognizable benefits, inhibited creativity, and even led to shorter attention spans. Not really sterling results. Additionally, children often had trouble transferring the knowledge gained in a game to pencil and paper at school, which led to confusion and more time spent on basic concepts. Electronic toys short-circuited the learning process. So why do parents buy learning toys? They want their kids to have a successful future and by purchasing these toys, they hope to give them an advantage. So they spend hundreds of dollars on Chou Chou dolls, Fisher- Price Learning Kitchens, and LeapFrog merchandise. Einstein didn’t have Baby Einstein tapes but his theories did relatively well. But what really motivates parents to buy learning toys? Maybe they simply wish to avoid the responsibilities that parenting entails. A flashing-blinkingsparkling-spinning-beeping-singing educational toy gives the parent a break for a cup of coffee, a chat on the phone, or a date with Jerry Springer. Do parents hand off the baton to LeapFrog just as GM, Chrysler, and Ford want to hand it off to U.S. tax - payers? Perhaps they secretly desire Chou Chou doll children with on-off switches. Maybe these toys assuage parents’ guilt for not spending time with their children. An educational toy compounds the relief of this guilt. But ultimately the responsibility of teaching young children lies with parents – not toys. The song continues as I round the final curve of the lake. Browne sings, “And believe in whatever may lie/In those things that money can buy.” If learning toys fail, look for something else. Maybe a steroid-charged baby formula that ensures a 36 on the ACT, or fortified carrot sticks that morph children into the next Barack Obama. Are learning toys the PowerBars of education, or the steroids of parenting? I’m not sure, but right now this is a social experiment without a control group. And we’re running on empty. ✎ Internitwit by Molly Kane, Hull, MA Irecently read “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” – an article in The Atlantic about how the Internet has changed the way we think. This got me wondering: is our increasing dependence on the Internet substantially affecting the way our brains work? The answer is yes. In his article, writer Nicholas Carr cites research that shows an alarming trend: the more we use the Internet, the less apt we are to concentrate and absorb large amounts of information. The human brain is able to adapt How is the Internet affecting our brains? to circumstances, as is the case here. Because the Internet provides us with the information we are looking for so quickly, our brains have learned to expect to get what we’re looking for through skimming or a minimal amount of actual reading. We are slowly losing the capacity to read, let alone absorb, lengthy pieces of writing. But I believe that the Internet is also affecting our brains in other ways. The way we write online, the slang we use, is becoming more and more a part of our offline lives. Have you noticed yourself making more grammatical errors, or having the urge to abbreviate words? You can thank the Internet for that. Because of the pervasiveness of slang in IM and texting, our brains now expect it. The Internet really is changing the way we process information. Is it making us stupid? Not necessarily, but I don’t like it all the same. ✎ APRIL ’09 • Teen Ink opin!on Photo by Jenna Trottier, Ottawa, ON, Canada 15
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Page 3 and 4: A PRIL 2009 COVER FEATURES The Coll
Page 6 and 7: non•fic•tion 06 Boot Camp Adven
Page 8 and 9: non•fic•tion 08 School for the
Page 10 and 11: non•fic•tion 10 The Hospital Vi
Page 12 and 13: artgallery 12 Teen Ink • APRIL
Page 16 and 17: heroes 16 Grandmother Anna Purvianc
Page 18 and 19: FOCUS COLLEGE FOCUS 18 My Childhood
Page 20 and 21: FOCUS COLLEGE FOCUS 20 Is the SAT U
Page 22 and 23: FOCUS COLLEGE FOCUS 22 Parting Ways
Page 24 and 25: FOCUS COLLEGE FOCUS 24 How Public S
Page 26 and 27: college essays 26 Failing Successfu
Page 28 and 29: educatorof year the Kathy Nelson LA
Page 30 and 31: UA has a rich tradition of excellen
Page 32 and 33: Suffolk University, located in vibr
Page 34 and 35: Poetry 34 I Got the Joy! I got the
Page 36 and 37: you&your health 36 Pipe Dreams by D
Page 38 and 39: Travel&Culture 38 A Summer of Exces
Page 40 and 41: Video Game reviews Read more video
Page 42 and 43: Movie &TV reviews 42 DRAMA Revoluti
Page 44 and 45: fic•tion 44 Her, Him and the Rece
Page 46 and 47: fic•tion 46 Improvising by Onjuli

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