Internet trash

If I could make one change as to how rhetoric happens it would have to be getting rid of the trashy internet sites. This would be a small step, but large in its effects. Seeing as our society is technologically driven and dependent, the internet has become a source of truth for many, myself included. Though there are ways to block certain sites from the eyes of children, most kids find a way to see all that the internet has to offer. There are so MANY topics that I could address, but I will only touch on two. For starters, how about those sexy pornographic websites? For horny adults, maybe they are ok, but how about the bored kids after school who have nothing to do but surf the net? I think these sites are encouraging our kids to try these sexual acts they are witnessing. They are seeing their favorite stars acting like sluts, excuse my language…(example Paris Hilton, Pam Anderson) and are likely to believe that if they do the same thing, they could become quite popular and sexy too. Sex is something for two consenting adults, who should be in love, in my opinion, to indulge in. Sex is not for these middle schoolers who think it is cool to perfect their oral sex skills on the school bus. Because I want to be a teacher, I’ve been in the school setting a lot lately, and I’m noticing the change that our students are becoming more and more promiscuous at an early age as time goes on. It is not a stretch to think that the internet could be teaching these kids their values today. What these kids are not seeing are the consequences of what sex can lead to.

Another issue, one that I touched on in my presentation includes those horrible websites advocating fad diets. Despite all the warnings you hear that say, “Don’t believe everything you read/see on the internet,” I still tend to believe almost everything I see. Our kids/teens are being subjected to these advertisements and are being led to think they are fat, even when they aren’t. They trust these sites that are telling them they will lose weight if they try this product or that pill. They don’t think that companies would be lying to them just to sell a product. It’s not just the websites that try to sell you bogus remedies for being overweight. There are actually websites that kids can go to that tell you the best way to throw up your food. There are websites that promote eating all you want for one day then not eating anything the next as weightloss solutions. (When I saw this, I wanted to try it, so why wouldn’t our self conscious adolescents think the same way?) With all that is being put on the net, kids are bound to be influenced to try these unhealthy weightloss solutions. The temptation is too great when all you want to do is look like your idol who happens to be a size negative 2. Our kids are being exposed to absolute junk and it is influencing who they are becoming.

The internet is promoting sex and unhealthy weightloss, shoving it in kids faces, but the kids are not exposed to the many awful consequences of what these sites are promoting. Deaths from sex and dieting occur all the time. Adolescents are in the “It won’t happen to me” stage, so they are not concerned with warnings against these sites and even if there are warnings, they would probably ignore them. To take off all controversial websites would be impossible. New ones would just keep popping up everyday. I am not offering a “cure” for these unhealthy misleading sites, because I know it is virtually impossible to shield our kids from this. If it wasn’t on the internet, it would be in books. If not in books, on the bathroom stalls of the schools. I just think that we should be aware of what we are promoting and should consider all the trouble it can lead to, especially for our kids who could have such bright futures before them.