Jan. 2011 RISING VOICES: POINT/COUNTERPOINT: Have technology, media changed youth for the better?

By APRIL WINEBARGER

Even teens look back on childhood memories with fondness.

Everyone remembers the "Magic School Bus" theme song, and the Dr. Seuss books kindergarten teachers read aloud. These stories were fun and educational. The teens of tomorrow, however, will have very different memories of their childhoods, spurred on by rapidly changing media and technology.

Little girls in middle school and even elementary school go around wearing "Twilight" shirts and talking about how "hot" Edward is. According to Heather Butler, a junior at Elizabethtown High School, “Twilight gives kids unrealistic expectations about what life will be like.”

Romance seems to be an inappropriate subject for young kids to be reading about. But then again, kids are starting to "date" at a younger age too.

Not only are they dating, but they're making it public on Facebook, another thing kids are interested in far earlier than today's teens were. Facebook has an age limit of 13 and older, but many middle schoolers lie about their birth year and have no problem getting a Facebook page.

“Kids don’t really need a Facebook until eighth grade or so,” said Nathan Hubble, a senior at John Hardin High School.

Hannah Montana is another staple of preteen pop culture.

“It (the show) isn’t funny," Butler said. "I think Hannah Montana is making kids mature too fast. They want to be like Miley, but she’s not a good role model.” When Butler was younger, her favorite show was “Liberty’s Kids,” an educational cartoon about the American Revolution. The difference between these two shows is enormous.

Media today is simply making kids grow up too fast, as they try to blend in with the adult world sooner and sooner.

April Winebarger is a junior at Elizabethtown High School.