Most teenagers spend a great deal of time on the internet.  Some have their own web logs and web pages.  Others use the internet to play online video games and email their friends.  Since young people spend so much time online, it seems logical to use the internet as a tool for disseminating important information amongst this audience.  The internet functions as an alternative school network for many young people.  This is an alternative school network which benefits these young people in their academic as well as their social lives. 

Most teens spend roughly forty hours of their week in classes.  Their attendance makes school an excellent way to teach them about various teenage issues as well as the academic lessons that will aid them in college.  However, older forms of spreading this valuable information (such as mass school assemblies and dogmatic health classes) are not as effective as they used to be.  The young people of the new millennium demand a new response.  The alternative school network is the answer.

The alternative school network is helpful for many reasons.  First and foremost, the alternative school network is frequented by young people; these young people will interact with their peers, thus making it an effective tool.  Young people are more honest with one another because their peers are dealing with the same struggles and will not judge them as harshly as a parent.  Additionally, an alternative school network might help to improve a teenager’s self-esteem as their sense of alienation decreases.

An alternative school network can be beneficial in another way.  An alternative school network would suffer from less of the social hierarchical issues that plague teenagers in their normal educational centers.  The internet has the advantage of anonymity.  With that in mind, teenagers are apt to be open and less judgmental in an internet forum.
 

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