Adolecent interview

    I had the chance to interview a family friend; Stephanie. Stephanie is a 14 year old young lady that is very involved with school and her church. Her parents are married and she has a younger sister, Lacey. I first asked Stephanie to describe herself and she replied with, "I am friendly, outgoing, caring and smart." She said that she considers herself to be friends with everyone but has two best friends. Steph plays soccer and enjoys doing crafts with her mom and sister. For 14 years old, she's very down to earth, responsible and well spoken. I asked her the following questions:

*Do you have a SmartPhone? "Yes, I do but I'm only allowed to use it after school to contact my parents (for permission/ rides). If I use it once I'm home it's closely monitored by my parents". I asked her if she had to get off the phone at a certain time (I always did as a kid) and she said, "yes, at 9pm unless I'm working on a school project w/ a friend". 

* What other forms of technology do you have in your home besides a SmartPhone? "We have a family computer (PC), laptop, Kindle and my parents have phones". 

* Are you allowed on social media websites? "Yes, I do have a Facebook & an Instagram but my parents have the passwords and can access it anytime they'd like". She seemed so good about this- you'd think most teenagers would have said it w/ some type of an attitude at least! She seemed to understand that it's done to protect her. This lead to my next question- Have you ever been Cyber bullied or know anyone who has? She replied, "I haven't had any issues w/ Cyber bullying but friends of mine have; they are considered, "nerds" and have been bullied in the past online and in school, it's really sad". She said, " that's why my parents worry". 

* I then asked if her parents put a limit on computer/ screen time? Steph answered, "there's not a real set limit because sometimes I'm on the computer for homework and it can take sometime but on the weekends my parents don't like for us to be on the computer or our phones much; they want to see us playing outside. We usually do family stuff on the weekends; biking or hiking or we go see a movie together. When we watch TV it's usually something that we can all watch together". 

* I asked Stephanie if she feels the need to check her social media sites every ten minutes or if she can live without them? She really shocked me and said, "I could really care less, I'm so busy in my "real life" that I don't have much time to check what other people are doing online". She said, "I see my friends all day at school and then sometimes after with practice that I know what's going on in their lives; I don't need to keep checking in on them all the time". I thought this was such a mature answer. 

* Another question I asked was, do you communicate better face to face or behind a screen? She quickly said, "oh, face to face for sure"! I love to see and talk to my friends. We would rather hang out together than type back and forth over a computer". What a breath of fresh air this young girl is!!! 

* I asked her if all of her "friends" on her social media websites are really her true friends? She said, they are all friends, some closer than others but everyone is friendly...kind of like real life school. I'm nice to everyone and get along with everyone". 

* I asked if she felt like social media causes drama / problems for people? She said, "YES, for sure...lots of my friends have gotten into fights because of stupid issues over the computer" She said, "it's hard to know what people mean sometimes when you are talking through text or the computer"....smart kid! 

* Do you use your computer for things other than social media? Stephanie said, "Yes, I mostly use the computer for things other than social media"...She has recently started horse back riding and has been researching this; it's peaked her interest and would rather look at horses and technique than facebook (mom says).  

* I asked her what she would do if there was no internet for a week? She laughed and said, "I'd be fine...said she'd go for walks w/ the family dog, go riding and do homework" She said, "I always have homework....it may be more difficult to do w/out the internet but it would take up more time that way"! 

* I asked Stephanie how life would change if there were no such thing as the internet? She said, "my life wouldn't change that much but homework would be harder to complete" and she said, "I guess I'd miss checking in on my friends, whenever I wanted to" and that "things would all just take so much longer to do". 

So there you have it, an interview with today's youth about the internet and social media. To be honest, this interview really blew me away. I know Stephanie is such a good kid but I didn't realize how little of a role the internet and social media played in her life. It kind of made me feel guilty for how much time I spend looking at social media and other people's lives! Hearing such a young person talk about the importance of things other than the internet was uplifting and encouraging. It also gives me hope; I hope my daughter doesn't become addicted to the internet like some kids (I plan on being like Stephanie's parents though; only in moderation). Steph is a special kid; smart and doesn't feed into anyone or anything that she doesn't agree with. She is strong willed and has a great head on her shoulders. For her it's easy to say, "no" to social media whereas some children who don't have friends, get suckered into thinking FB is full of "real" friendships. Again interviewing her was like a breath of fresh air; she gives me hope for the future generations to come! Hopefully more will walk in her footsteps and have social media/ technology just be a small portion of their day! It's important to realize that many things we see and hear online are not the truth. I believe she is so well rounded and mature because of her parents; they've gone above and beyond and it shows in their child. 

I really enjoyed conducting this interview and it's refreshed my beliefs in teenagers; there are some out there who are genuine, smart and individuals. This was a very neat opportunity and I look forward to reading the rest of the interviews!