“Instead of steering them away from their computers, parents should recognise that teenagers sharpen important social skills online, say psychologists and anthropologists studying internet behaviour.
They stress that many of the traditional teenage hangouts, such as convenience stores and parks, have banned these youngsters or become viewed as unsafe. […]
In the online communities they form, teens choose empathetic leaders rather than ones that bombard them with advice, says Justine Cassell, also of Northwestern University.”