Autumn Edows: Growing Up Online - PBS tackles teenage Internet infamy

You may not realize it, but your kid probably has two distinct personalities. There's the young person you see every day. And there's the young person who has cultivated an online alter-ego. The big question: Which identity is more real? The answer isn't as obvious as you might think. The excellent documentary Growing Up Online, which debuts tonight as part of the Frontline series on PBS at 10 p.m., delves into many issues relating to teens and the Internet. Today's adolescents are dealing with things their parents never had to contemplate, from online bullying and instant "Internet fame," to the looming and leering presence of sexual predators. Growing Up Online chronicles the stories of teens such as Jessica Hunter, a shy and awkward 14-year-old who reinvented herself online as a goth artist and sultry model named Autumn Edows. "I didn't feel like myself, but I liked the fact I didn't feel like myself," Jessica/Autumn says. "I felt like I was famous." Jessica's father recalls the day he received a call from the local school, saying other parents had been made aware of photos of Jessica/Autumn on the Internet that were considered pornographic. Parental concerns aside, many kids firmly believe they're way more savvy in spotting Internet dangers than their moms and dads are. "My parents don't understand that I've spent pretty much (all my time) since second grade online," one ninth-grader says. "I know what to avoid. I think sometimes they forget that, because they didn't grow up online."

Source: http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Today/Entertainment/2008/01/22/4786268-sun.html