The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
41°F
Current Conditions
Clear sky
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

The Vox Box

  1. Blogs
  2. The Vox Box
  3. Frontline Investigates The Risks, Realities And Misconseptions Of Teen Life On The Internet

Frontline Investigates The Risks, Realities And Misconseptions Of Teen Life On The Internet


This is what the people at Frontline think about the teenage Internet life, and I agree with quite a bit of it.

One of their most interesting points is that kids on the Internet aren't as prone to sexual predators as parents have been lead to believe. Most kids that run into that stuff searched it out. Kids generally know what to avoid:

My parents don’t understand that I’ve spent pretty much since second grade online

Some of their assertions went much deeper though, the article opened with the story of 14 year old "Autum Edos," or "Jessica Hunter" as she was known in real life. She reinvented herself online and managed to gain a "cult following" with her alter ego of a goth artist posting provacative pictures of herself.

“I didn’t feel like myself, but I liked the fact that I didn’t feel like myself. I felt like someone completely different. I felt like I was famous.”

The idea of teenagers completely reinventing themselves on the Internet is what confused me. Do any of you act as a different person online than in real life? I like to think that I am basically the same on the web as in person, and it baffles me that people would alter themselves so much. What changes have you made online?

In 2006, then-editor Steve Smith of The Spokesman-Review had the idea of starting a publication for an often forgotten audience: teenagers. The Vox Box was a continuation of the Vox, an all-student staffed newspaper published by The Spokesman-Review. High school student journalists who staffed the Vox made all content decisions as they learn about the trade of journalism. This blog's mission was to give students an opportunity to publish their voices. The Vox Box and the Vox wrapped up in June 2009, but you can follow former staffers' new blog at http://voxxiez.blogspot.com.