Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier
By Carla Thornton,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Thought-provoking PBS site weighs Internet's pros and cons.
A Lot or a Little?
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Is It Any Good?
In 2009, PBS correspondents traveled the country asking people how the Internet has shaped their lives. This site features the raw video footage being gathered for DIGITAL NATION, a new documentary set to air in February 2010, and it's absolutely riveting.
When we visited in October 2009, there was an annoying technical problem; the videos' audio lagged by several seconds like a badly dubbed movie. But the content transcends this temporary glitch and confirms, surprises, heartens, and sometimes frightens with its revelations. For instance, many kids today indeed have shortened attention spans, but surprise: some high schools have raised test scores by handing out laptops. The stories are by turns chilling -- like desk jockeys in Nevada operating unmanned Predator drones over Afghanistan -- and lovely, such as the teenagers who meet and become real-life friends after chatting online for six years. If these are the rough cuts, the finished documentary should be terrific.
Online interaction: Leaving comments after the videos is the only way to interact with others on the site, and the few comments posted when we visited shortly after launch in October 2009 were civil, thoughtful responses to the content.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Some kids say it's easier to be themselves online than it is in real life. Why might this be so, and how can kids do a better job of developing their social selves in the real world?
Can kids go for an hour, an evening or an entire weekend without the computer? What non-digital activities could they enjoy instead?
Some kids think it's OK to post personal info online because no one but their friends will see it. Are they right or wrong? What are the possible consequences of sharing comments, photos, or videos that contain too much personal information? Read our tips for protecting privacy online.
Website Details
- Genre: Educational
- Pricing structure: Free
- Last updated: November 5, 2015
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