Techie Teens and Ethical Use of the Internet

As a teen librarian, I realize I will always be behind my patrons when it comes to technology. I just don’t have the time or vested interest in keeping up with the skills necessary to stay ahead of the tech game. I also realize that the kids I serve at my library need me to help them negotiate the moral and ethical climate of the internet, and of their exceptional web skills.

Take for instance, this teen: Jason Michael Milmont, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, the creator of the Nugache worm, which maliciously attacked an estimated 5,000-15,000 computers at a time through a peer-to-peer sharing site, Limewire. He recently stood trial, and the following article discusses the results of his plea agreement: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/147734/creator_of_nugache_worm_reaches_plea_agreement.html

Teens, in their infallibility, lack the judgment between knowing they can do something and whether or not they should do something. In Mr. Milmont’s case, he surpassed well beyond “should do it” to “did it, saw it, and then kept doing it.” Not only did he create the worm, he then modified it so that it would track online purchases, steal credit card numbers and then used the credit card numbers to make purchases. He now owes over $70,000 in restitution costs to people across the US, and he’s still a teen.

I see a serious lack of judgment for Mr. Milmont—somewhere, sometime, teens need to be taught ethical use of the internet. Many people believe that morality online is the same as morality in life, but it isn’t always as cut-and-dried. The internet, with its ruse of confidentiality, convinces teens even further of their infallibility. The anonymity with which they surf the web might be one part of why teens are perpetuating internet fraud. The separation of self from behind a computer screen makes it a tempting place for teens—they can test new identities with the relative safety of anonymity.

I think that educators need to be more aware of teaching to the talented techie teen. Talented teens in math, sports, or language are supported in most schools—they hone their talents while getting support for moral development. Tech talent is a bit more elusive. Techies are a bit more invisible, as they hide behind screens and code, educators have a harder time identifying and supporting this kind of talent in a way that also encourages moral development. Ethical situations seem more hazy behind the veil of anonymity that the internet provides. It is essential that technology instruction in schools includes moral and ethical use of the internet. Most of the time, schools just make students sign an ethical agreement of technology use, but rarely do students learn what constitutes an ethical use of technology. We can’t teach every student everything, but it is time that discussions of internet ethics reach public schools. Technologically talented teens may be discovering their own ethics the hard way.