Ask The Experts

CBSNews.com has gathered together three experts in the field of technology and teens to answer your questions.

A syndicated technology columnist for nearly two decades, Larry Magid serves as on air Technology Analyst for CBS Radio News and writes a column for CBSNews.com. His technology reports can be heard several times a week on the CBS Radio Network. Magid is the author of several books including "The Little PC Book."

Steve Jones is Professor of Communication at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He's also the author and editor of numerous books, including "Society Online" and "CyberSociety." His research interests include the social history of communication technology, popular music studies, Internet studies, and media history.

Cynthia P. Hunter is a career and technology educator at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Md., outside of Washington. She is in the process of setting up the Academy of Information Technology program at Wootton. She is also coordinator and director of the Girls in Technology Summer Exploration Camp at Wootton, which introduces eighth- and ninth-grade students to the world of information technology.

Larry Magid

I found that my 13-year old stepdaughter has a site on MySpace.com. She has said that she is 19 years old. She has 126 buddies and many pictures are shown. I found her by a random check from another person's Web site. How can I track her information? I tried to register and get a password to get online and kept receiving error messages. How can I get online to check? What do I look for on there?
— Ginny

First, as you may know, 13 is too young to use MySpace. The company has a policy of 14 and over, but it has no way to verify a person's age. If you know her profile or the name or e-mail she used to register for MySpace, you can subscribe to a service that gives you daily reports on what she does. It's called MySpaceWatch. They offer a free basic version which should be sufficient and a paid version ($6 a month) with more bells and whistles. KidQuery has a similar service.

As per her age, click on the Help link near the top right corner of MySpace home page and scroll down to the question "where do I report underaged users?" Click on that and you'll be able to file a report. MySpace will take down her site if they agree she's underaged — but it may take a while.

Sorry you weren't able to get your own account. They are free and it's generally pretty easy to sign up. Click the orange "Sign Up" link near the right top of MySpace.com and fill in the blanks. The hardest part is deciphering the verification code at the bottom.

Can you get into your child's account on MySpace or related sites? If so, can you see their history? How can you see if they deleted history? Will they know you were in their account? Is there any way to see what topics have been discussed — such as whether the teen has talked about specific topics such as sex or drugs? Also, if there is inappropriate behavior (threats, or propositions), who do you contact?
— Long Island, N.Y.

If you can find his or her profile (there is a search link near the top of every page), you can see what is being posted on their public account. That won't get you into their private configuration area. For that you need their password. Of course, there are programs you can install on your PC to monitor (spy?) on what people are doing, but you should think about whether you really want to do that with your kids. If so, the two leading companies are SpectorSoft and IamBigBrother.com. You can also check the browser's history, but that may not give you as much information as you're looking for.

Personally, I recommend that you start by talking with your child, letting him or her know you're concerned and seeing what you can work out together.

My 26-year-old daughter isn't opposed to finding a match online. She tells me she's smart about it — but I am concerned that even the smartest person can be fooled about someone with "smart" moves. Is meeting someone even on a popular matchmaking service safe?
— CM

Caution is smart before you get together with someone that you meet on the Net. Having said that, there are thousands of happy couples who met on dating services and social-networking sites. If she finds a person she wants to learn more about, she should correspond using the internal e-mail feature of her service (most offer them), which means she won't have to give out her real e-mail address or even her real name. If she eventually decides she wants to meet someone, it should be in a public place (like a well-lit restaurant) with a friend or two present.

Is one of these type of accounts safer than the other (MySpace vs. Facebook vs. Friendster)?
— LS

Facebook has some level of authentication in that you need either a ".edu" address to prove you're associated with a college or university or, if you're in high school, you have to be invited in by another member from your school. They also let business people in from certain companies and they require you have a valid company e-mail address. Friendster is for people over 16 only, but mainly for adults. MySpace has privacy features available to people under 16 but if you're older than that you must have a public profile — at least for now. I think the real issue isn't how safe the site is but how you use it. If you don't give out personal information on the site and are careful about what you say to others and how you respond to solicitations, then there is very little chance that you can get into trouble. The overwhelming majority of kids who do get into trouble are "compliant victims," which means they weren't forced into a bad situation but they were lured into one. Please feel free to visit my site, www.blogsafety.com for lots of help and access to an interactive forum where you can ask more questions.

What about programs like Picture Trail that your child's friend has pictures on which identifies everyone is the photo — what is your right when it comes to asking to have your child's identity removed?
— Dix Hills, N.Y.

This is a very interesting question. To be honest, I'm not sure what your legal rights are but certainly you have the right to request that someone not put up pictures of your kids and you can ask the service to take them down. PictureTrail has a place where you can contact customer support. I would start there. I'd also ask your kids to talk with their friends about this issue. It's a real problem on social-networking sites, including MySpace. Even kids who try to be careful are often out there in public on someone else's profile.

Do you ever see a day when it's actually easy to set up and maintain computer systems at home?
— Washington, D.C.

Well, if that were ever to happen I'd lose my job as CBS News' technology guy. Just kidding. I do find it amazing that PCs are still as complicated as they are considering they've been around for more than 25 years. These days, the biggest problem isn't the hardware or even so much the software but all the spyware and other malicious code. Still, Microsoft and its hardware partners have a long way to go before I would call PCs "user friendly." Microsoft says its new operating system (Vista), which is scheduled to come out next year, will be easier but from what I've seen only a bit easier.

Steve Jones

I am a 73-year-old grandmother who is addicted to the computer and besides the possibility of addiction which is, at best, not a healthy lifestyle but at worst tends to isolate people, I am concerned about the impersonality of computers. My generation grew up extremely self –conscious, with the idea that someone (from God to Santa to the next-door neighbor) always had their eyes on us and would tell. Today's teenagers are totally unselfconscious as exhibited by their clothing, behavior, and conversations. I overhear things I would rather not hear and see things I would rather not see. Now they have the anonymity of the Internet. Are we going to raise a generation of children with no inhibitions what-so-ever?
— Ardys Parrish

Youth has become over the last few decades generally less inhibited. That is a tendency that began long before the internet was invented. However, I doubt we will ever have youth who are entirely disinhibited. They may not be inhibited in ways that adults believe they should be, but they will be inhibited in ways their peers think they should be. Peer pressure is a strong inhibitor. While teens may push the limits of what is socially acceptable to adults, particularly online, they will stick to the limits their peers impose, and they will always look for those limits, in some cases imposing limits themselves if they cannot be certain of peer approval. And, indeed, their peers will impose limits, if only because of the constant formation and reconfiguring of social groups.

The important issue is whether parents and other adults in their lives are helping young people to understand and develop their sense of self and identity (whether online or not) as they emerge into adulthood. Adolescence has not been an easy process with or without technology, and open, honest and non-judgmental channels of communication between teen and parent have been a positive way that parents can aid their children during it.

I have noticed that when I use a word processor, I get into the habit of composing sentences word by word, because it is easy to go back and forth within the sentence and make changes. When I write using pencil and paper I tend to think in longer strings of thought because it is troublesome to recast a sentence once it is written. My question is: Is the use of technology changing the way our brains compose written material?
— James Carpenter

I think it's too soon to know that answer to that question (although their may be neuroscientists who, with brain scans, claim otherwise).

We typically communicate differently for every medium we use, be it paper and pen, phone, fax, e-mail, instant messaging, etc., and we typically adopt different "voices" when using those media. In short, each new medium has fostered developments and changes in human consciousness (please see Walter Ong's short but brilliant book "Orality and Literacy" and Elizabeth Eisenstein's book "The Printing Press as an Agent of Change"). Today's technology is likely changing the way our brains compose written material in relatively superficial ways (through the creation of new words, shorter sentences as you note, and the like) but the changes may not be nearly as deep as those that took place over several centuries as literacy took root, spread, and supplanted oral cultures.

My 20-year-old daughter has her MySpace private now (to my relief). But now that she has a Sidekick, even in the car she is typing away, intent and enjoying herself. She seems to have become more difficult to have a conversation with. It is, in my opinion, rude for someone to be focused on a machine while they have people right in front of them. Is this normal behavior?
— CM

It is normal for young people to find ways to isolate themselves from their parents in particular circumstances (headphones were an easy and early way to do that, as was reading a book) but it is up to you as the parent to determine whether you find it troublesome or not. If you do find it troublesome (which, judging from the tone of your question, seems to be the case) I would suggest asking your daughter to tell you what she is typing, with whom, what sorts of things she communicates about using her Sidekick, the kinds of things her friends do with their Sidekicks (or other mobile devices), and so on.

In other words, try to draw her into a conversation about the things she likes and does. Additionally, have you communicated with her using technology? It might be interesting to give that a try (mind you, not when you are driving!).

I know a lot of older kids who are totally hooked on online gambling, especially poker. There's no way grown-ups can technically outsmart these kids, so, as they used to say, "what's a mother to do?"
— Washington, D.C.

About the best one can do initially is try to find out from a child what they are doing and why they think they are doing it. Is it a problem? In what ways? Does the child perceive it to be one? Is their a non-threatening way to show them it is a problem? Kids often seem to "get hooked" on a variety of things and move on from one thing to another fairly quickly. If there is a long-term gambling problem, I would strongly urge professional counseling and assistance.

How much teenage use of technology is considered too much technology?
— Jessica Lipps, N.Y.

Excellent question. Parents are having to answer it on an almost daily basis. In truth, I have no idea, as it is really an individual matter, and it depends on how one defines "technology."

I'll assume that your question is more about contemporary technologies like video games, internet, computers, iPods, and the like. But even so, it is still not possible to come up with a nice, tidy, generalized answer. For some teenagers, use of technology is frightening (yes, believe it or not, there are teenagers who are very apprehensive about using it) while for others it is simple to use and easy to understand. I would suggest trying to determine the purposes to which the teenager is putting the technology. Is it to connect with other people, particularly friends and family? Is it to learn about the world? Is it to have fun? Is it to engage in illegal, illicit or at least dubious behaviors? Is it to do homework and study? And, crucially, what does the teenager think would be too much? It may well be that no one has asked them and that they have very strong opinions on the matter, particularly as they have no doubt observed many of their peers' use of technology.

I have an 11 year-old boy and I know there is absolutely no way he will never see online porn in his adolescent career, no matter how careful we are. My question is: What, if any, are the effects of that, if any? It's distasteful, but is it harmful?
— Concerned Dad

I am not a psychologist, nor do I play one on TV, on the Internet, or anywhere else for that matter. I do, however, share your concern. I think it is difficult to isolate the effect of any one exposure to pornography, and often difficult to identify any cumulative effects, because there are so many other variables involved, such as a child's general well-being, development, and family and social life. If your boy engages you in conversation about things he has seen online do not shy away from the conversation, try to understand his questions and viewpoints, and try to guide him, in a non-threatening fashion, about what you consider to be the values you uphold and that he should follow. This is an ongoing process, and does not begin or end with viewing porn online (or anywhere else for that matter) and is one of the most difficult things about parenting, for as children assert their own identities and test their boundaries they may or may not agree with the values parents hold, but they will be influenced by them if parents continuously and consistently share them through word and deed, more strongly than they will be influenced by what they see.

Cynthia P. Hunter

As a high school English teacher, I am constantly struggling to keep my students on task and attentive to the lesson at hand. In the last few years, it has become even more difficult with the increased popularity of iPods and cell phones that play music and videos. Even though I limit their using them in the classroom (no making or taking calls during class, but I allow them to listen to music when they are working on their own), it's pretty impossible to completely eliminate them, so many times I am working with the "divide attention student." Am I doing my students a disservice by not being more insistent on keeping their i-Pods and cell phones turned off and out of the classroom?
— Jeff Huffman

School policy should identify rules that prohibit the use of electronic devices during the school day. Every teacher and school personnel must enforce the rule. Although listening to music can often enhance a student's productivity, allowing the use of iPods/CD's during the school day sends a mixed message.

As a school librarian, I see many issues involved with Internet use at schools. How do we teach teens to use the Internet safely and effectively? Teens often use the Internet for research without checking the source of the information. The World Wide Web has no gatekeeper, no reputable publisher. It requires critical evaluation of each site, which many teens don't have the patience or the skills to do. Are we raising a generation of children who will be misinformed by the internet? Yes, we need to teach our children to be critical evaluators of information. Information must be supported with reputable, current and valid research. A topic in research analysis should accompany every English class.
— A Library Media Specialist in Falls Church, Va.

The Internet is a vast arena of information. Every high school student must be taught how to evaluate credible sources of information. Student research assignments should require proper citations of information from an approved professional data base provided by the school or local university/college. Many school media centers subscribe to professional databases that provide current and credible research and information. Noodle Tools is an online resource that teaches students how to effectively use online information.

Why can't the school systems have more programs such as one in Ms. Hunter's school? How do they obtain the funding? How can other schools use her program as a model to customize programs? We don't need to measure how successful her program will be — we need to begin implementing forward thinking such as hers and start integrating it into the school systems' philosophies nationwide.
— Raddish87

Staffing and funding to support technology programs is very limited. Oftentimes, dedicated teachers overextend themselves with little support from the school system. The local business community, parents and higher education institutions must become involved to provide real-world insight, work experience and role models. When a student can apply learning in the classroom to the real world, he or she can make informed decisions about their future.

How can we get more girls interested in technology? The gap appears to be widening between boys' and girls' mastery of technology.
— AEC

Help girls identify non-traditional careers in technology. Identify salary and lifestyle benefits. Career Awareness workshops and Interest Inventories surveys are helpful. Identify careers that match student interest. Technology is simply creative problem-solving that can be applied to any industry.

How can schools effectively monitor teen use of technology? Are Internet filters the answer?
— Washington, D.C.

Filters are necessary in schools until students become adept at evaluating and using information responsibly. Filters are a helpful deterrent against unhealthy distractions on the Internet. However, parental guidance is essential to developing a morally conscience community.