Teenagers Can Push Back Boundaries

Adolescent and teenage girls have become one of the largest groups
of bloggers in the U.S. In their quest to express themselves through peer interaction by blogging, they are discussing the changes they undergo, and their personal experiences in their transition stage from adolescence to emerging adulthood. Thus “adolescent girls' blogs provide one entry point for examining how the activities of girls are renegotiating boundaries” (2.0 p.161). Young girls’ blogging on the internet have shifted the boundaries about their personal lives from national to worldwide. In America, adolescents and teenagers have always been stereotyped in a negative way but with the creation of social mediums such as Instant Messaging, MySpace, and Internet blogging, they can emerge as an inspiration to their peers who are ravaged by HIV and other AIDS related illnesses in other parts of the world.

Young girls and teenagers in rural South Africa between the ages of 15 -19 have been one of the largest groups of people in that country to be hit by HIV and AIDS. “It is estimated that over 60% of all new infections occur in youth between the ages of 15 and 25, with young women being infected earlier and at higher rates” (2.0 p.162). If there is any need for an intervention to protect these young women, it has to be now, and the young women who bear the brunt of these sufferings must be able to have a voice. While in the United States, adolescents and teenagers are empowered to have their voices and opinions aired, young girls in South Africa might also be able to benefit from such form of internet blogging. It is basically about enabling these young South African girls to have a personal, “reflective and critical discursive space in contexts where they would otherwise have little voice” (2.0 p.163).

The world would be a much better place if people are in a position to understand the sufferings of others. According to Brandi Bell (2007), when girls blog, it is like “private writing in public spaces” (2.0 p.164). When young South African girls blog, they do not only have a South African audience, but also a worldwide audience, especially an audience of young people in America. Through Internet blogging, the young South African girls can be likened to “Youth as Knowledge Producers,” (A project group based in KwaZulu-Natal) because they would be in a position “to create a more youth-centered approach to knowledge production and behavior change in the context of HIV and AIDS” (2.0 p.165). Information technology has enabled young people to interact with their peers, and to push back boundaries, not only locally, but also worldwide. Teenagers who are suffering with HIV and other AIDS related illnesses in South Africa are able to find their own voice. It is time that they speak for themselves.