One of the reasons why blogs have undergone a kind of



explosion in the teen community and are growing by



leaps and bounds is the fact that they provide a unique



mixture of visibility and anonymity. A teenager can



invite friends and peers to read his or her blog with a



simple email, thereby winning attention or possibly



even praise. Of course, with visibility usually comes the



possibility of embarrassment, but the fact that it is



possible to blog anonymously with an invented handle



or nickname negates a lot of the potential for



humiliation. Many a blogging teen lives in fear that a



parent or guardian will discover his or her blog, but by



publishing under an alias a teenager can spill his or her



secrets without fear of being traced.





Outside the world of blogging, teen writers often have



very limited opportunities to be published. Magazines



and journals are often reticent to publish young writers



who may not have as much credibility as older writers



with a lot of experience and extensive credits to their



names. This can discourage adolescents from writing or



from seeking chances to publish their work. By



blogging, young people can begin to gain a following of



readers without first having to win the attention and



support of an editor or publisher who may not be very



interested in teenaged authors.





Between the fact that blogs provide young people with a



chance to exercise their impressive technical aptitude,



to gain visibility without compromising privacy, and to



build a readership for their writing without having to



jump through the traditional hoops of the publishing



industry, it is little wonder that are so many teenagers



with blogs. For some teenagers, blogging is even a very



social endeavor that allows them to meet people with



similar interests from all over the world. Many a



blogging teen has discovered that having a weblog on



the internet is a great way to explore self-expression



and, often, to win positive feedback from new friends.

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