The Future Meets The Future As Teens Boot Up On Cyber Chat Lines
Modern computers can transmit vast amounts of information over a phone line in just seconds, but the modern teenager can still come up with enough information to tie up that line for hours.
Frances Cadigan, a Massachusetts woman, learned that last week when she got her 14-year-old niece a modem for Christmas and signed her up for 10 free hours of a popular online service.
Her niece Jessica logged onto a “chat” line, where she and other teens exchanged typed messages - all day long.
“I used up the 10 hours in one day,” admitted Jessica. “My aunt almost killed me.”
The recent holiday gift-giving season means more teenagers than ever are booting up computers in order to get on line.
Commercial on-line services have grown by thousands of subscribers per day in the past year. Much of the growth takes place in November, December and January, according to the Interactive Services Association, a trade group representing on-line services.
Among the reasons for that spurt are teens, who often have greater computer sophistication than their parents.
“Kids will drive the increase of home computing,” predicted Betsy Richter, an associate editor at NetGuide, a magazine about on-line computer use.
Michael Schuler, a Sacramentoarea 15-year-old, is one of those guiding the increase. A two-year veteran of on-line use, Schuler even has his own consulting business, which helps other teens and adults set up their computers.
Schuler uses a local Sacramento bulletin board, America Online and the Internet, but unlike Jessica, he doesn’t stay on for hours at a stretch.
“I don’t have time to,” he said, citing the demanding International Baccalaureate program at his high school, Mira Loma.
Teenagers on line represent the future meeting the future. The people who will run tomorrow’s world are pioneering a stilldeveloping communications technology.
So what happens when teens hang out on this futuristic street corner? Well, it’s a lot like what has happened in the past.
On an Internet news group called K12.chat.junior, for example, one teen can be found telling another how to order (electronically) albums by Green Day - a group known not only for its music, but for its mud fight with the audience at Woodstock ‘94.
Schuler sometimes logs onto Internet’s alt.tv.animaniacs to talk about one of his favorite television shows.
On Prodigy, teens bare their souls to one another in a bulletin board area on problems and advice. Not surprisingly, they have many concerns to discuss.
There are more than 100 topics just starting with the letter A, including Abortion, About being ugly, About kissing some1, Acne and Alcoholism.
On America Online, you can find young people discussing what is hot and what is not, or just chatting the way Jessica did last week.