Heading for a Better New World

Technology has really advanced over the years. For example, when my father was little he didnt use to have computers and he spent most of my time playing outdoors with my friends while these days children spend most of their time indoors playing computer games in my opinion, too much time.

People have more gadgets at home now. Producers are going to combine many different functions into one device. New multi-functional devices should be easy to operate and all this on the one hand is good, but on the other hand its very terrible, since it seems to me that the pros and cons are not so different if you start to delve into this topic.

Todays Russian teens live in a world surrounded by communication technologies. The Internet and cell phones have become a central force that drives the rhythm of daily life.

The number of teenagers using the Internet has grown by 24% in the past four years, and 87% of those teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 are now on-line. Compared to four years ago, teenagers use of the Internet has intensified and broadened as they continue to log on more often and do more things when they are on-line.

Among other things, there has also been significant growth over the past four years in the number of teens who play games, get news, shop, and get health information, all on the Internet. In focus groups, teens described their new environment. To them, e-mail is increasingly seen as a tool for communicating with adults such as their teachers, and institutions like schools. They also see it as a way to convey lengthy and detailed information to large groups.

Other IM tools allow for the posting of personal profiles, and even away messages, which let others know when a user is away from the computer but wishes to remain connected to their IM network.