Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Online Identities are a Necessity for "In the closet" Teens
Egan, Jennifer "Lonely Gay Teen Seeking Same," New York Times, 12/10/2000
Jennifer Egan states in the New York Times that virtual identities are more essential to same sex orientated teens who want to keep their sexuality obscure. She interviewed a teenage gay boy named Jeffrey. In his town homosexuality was not valued, or accepted. He uses the internet to help him with the daily questions and emotions that a homosexual would experience.
The life he experienced on the internet was very real to him and allowed him to release energy and stress that he could not do otherwise in fear of being exposed. He had a boyfriend online which in every aspect in the real world was a real relationship. If he is away from his computer he gets separation anxiety as if he was separated from his boyfriend. Also if his boyfriend does not sign online that day it’s like he has not seen him in a week. The Internet is a necessity to "in the closet" homosexuals.
"The Internet is the thing that has kept me sane," he told me. "I live constantly in fear. I can't be my true self. My mom complains: 'I can see you becoming more detached from us. You're always spending time on the computer. But the Internet is my refuge."
"The Internet is an inferior substitute for real-live human beings," says Kevin Jennings, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, a national organization working to end antigay bias in schools. "But it's frankly better than nothing, which is what gay youth have had before."
I believe that virtual identities are essential to the development of homosexual teenagers. The initial reaction to the discovery that you are homosexual is to hide it. Teens can go online and research and talk to others to help them with their sexuality. Cyber talking can aware teens of their options in dealing with their homosexuality. They get a first hand reference of someone else who has gone through the transition of discovering they are homosexual. Creating relationships online with others is a way they are able to have a real social life because in the real world they are posing to be something they are not. In cyberspace they have a choice to express how they really feel or create a new character of somebody they would prefer to be more like.
Jennifer Egan states in the New York Times that virtual identities are more essential to same sex orientated teens who want to keep their sexuality obscure. She interviewed a teenage gay boy named Jeffrey. In his town homosexuality was not valued, or accepted. He uses the internet to help him with the daily questions and emotions that a homosexual would experience.
The life he experienced on the internet was very real to him and allowed him to release energy and stress that he could not do otherwise in fear of being exposed. He had a boyfriend online which in every aspect in the real world was a real relationship. If he is away from his computer he gets separation anxiety as if he was separated from his boyfriend. Also if his boyfriend does not sign online that day it’s like he has not seen him in a week. The Internet is a necessity to "in the closet" homosexuals.
"The Internet is the thing that has kept me sane," he told me. "I live constantly in fear. I can't be my true self. My mom complains: 'I can see you becoming more detached from us. You're always spending time on the computer. But the Internet is my refuge.""The Internet is an inferior substitute for real-live human beings," says Kevin Jennings, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, a national organization working to end antigay bias in schools. "But it's frankly better than nothing, which is what gay youth have had before."
I believe that virtual identities are essential to the development of homosexual teenagers. The initial reaction to the discovery that you are homosexual is to hide it. Teens can go online and research and talk to others to help them with their sexuality. Cyber talking can aware teens of their options in dealing with their homosexuality. They get a first hand reference of someone else who has gone through the transition of discovering they are homosexual. Creating relationships online with others is a way they are able to have a real social life because in the real world they are posing to be something they are not. In cyberspace they have a choice to express how they really feel or create a new character of somebody they would prefer to be more like.
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A good post.
Two issues raised:
1. Does a virtual identity provide a safe haven for the expression of "true" identity free of real world constraints.
2. Should minors have this same freedom to create a virtual identity that does not conform to family or community standards.
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Two issues raised:
1. Does a virtual identity provide a safe haven for the expression of "true" identity free of real world constraints.
2. Should minors have this same freedom to create a virtual identity that does not conform to family or community standards.
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