Land of the Cool

By Gail Junion-Metz -- School Library Journal, 10/1/1997

You can spend a long time looking at teen web sites without knowing for sure which are cool. Luckily, I have a 16-year-old son who helps me recognize coolness when I see it. Though he didn't officially sanction all the sites I mention this month, I think I've absorbed enough to put together a pretty cool selection, plus a couple of sites for us adults.

Stuff to Do, Things to See

With its slick graphics and unique content, Cyberteens is one of the best places for teens to hang out. To get the most out of this site, your computers should have sound cards, speakers, and the Shockwave plug-in installed. In "Young Composers," teens can hear music composed by other teens. There's a virtual "Art Gallery," an online serial novel, and an online magazine. In addition, teens can read movie reviews by 13-year-old Vivian Rose, talk in monitored chat rooms, or check out the cartoons in the "Shockwave Movie Theatre."

Another place with lots to do is the Internet Public Library -- Teen Division. The "Issues and Conflicts" section contains an exceptional list of links to information about drugs, gangs, and violence in school. Other sections, such as "Style" and "Dating and Stuff," have links that teens may find interesting.

Always New and Different

Teens who look to the Net for new and different experiences like sites that frequently change their content. For this crowd, there's Virtually React, an e-zine that offers new educational and recreational material weekly, and in some sections, daily. What I particularly like about this site is that teens interact with it rather than just passively reading. "Your 2 Cents," for instance, encourages teens to share thoughts, ideas, and goofy stories with each other. In the "Fun Zone," they can interact with the Crystal Ball, which supplies odd and funny predictions.

Getting Real focuses on nine different teens, exploring their lives and their thoughts on all sorts of topics. Using "Message Boards," teens can talk to the Getting Real gang via e-mail. The "Tools for Life" section lists all sorts of great information about getting a job, going to college, becoming a rock or sports star -- even starting a business.

Get Smart Sites

Street Cents, an interesting television show from the Canadian Broadcasting Company, has a cool web site. Each week, the site tackles a different topic, with the aim of teaching teens how to save money, spend it wisely, and avoid getting burned.

Straight Talk About School, sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and GTE, encourages kids to stay in school and think about college or careers. The "Work it Out" section has interactive quizzes and tests. Under "Who Am I?" teens can take a short version of the Myers-Briggs personality inventory.

Super Sitter, produced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and MedAccess Corp., helps teens become more conscientious and safety-conscious babysitters. It teaches toy and play safety and contains information on poison and medication safety, and includes a handy "who-to-call" list.

Stuff for Us

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has created Youth Info, which is full of statistics, reports, publications, and information about teens. The "Statistical Profile" contains information about teen drug use, pregnancy, graduation and dropout rates, and facts about the percentage of teens who go to college or get good jobs. "Recent Reports and Publications" and "Related Web Sites" are goldmines of information.

Adolescence Directory Online (ADOL), created by Indiana University's Center for Adolescent Studies, is another good site. The "Mental Health Issues" section contains information on adolescent eating disorders, attention deficit disorder, and teen depression. The "Health Issues" section covers subjects like alcohol and drug use, AIDS, obesity, acne, and teen sexuality.

Web Addresses

• Cyberteens
  http://www.cyberteens.com/ctmain.html
• Internet Public Library -- Teen Division
  http://www.ipl.org/teen/
• Virtually React
  http://www.react.com
• Getting Real
  http://www.gettingreal.com/index1.html
• Street Cents
  http://www.halifax.cbc.ca/streetcents/
• Straight Talk About School
  http://www.balancenet.org
• Super Sitter
  http://www.medaccess.com/workbook/supersit/supersit.htm
• Youth Info
  http://youth.os.dhhs.gov
• Adolescence Directory Online
  http://education.indiana.edu/cas/adol/adol.html