Following the latest trend of constantly surfing the Internet, a local teenager logs in and navigates his way to chat rooms and youth-friendly Web sites, such as MySpace.com. Photo by Daniel Gobaud/R-JENERATION Countless teens are turning to the Internet for social interaction and entertainment. Photo by Daniel Gobaud/R-JENERATION

From illegal downloading to deadly online acquaintances, in its short history, the Internet has gained notoriety for the variety of quasi-dangerous, if not illegal, actions it spawns.

Yet for many teenagers, the Web represents a user-friendly tool for school and personal matters. Just clicks away are opportunities to research, shop, chat, listen to music, stay informed, build new acquaintances and cement old friendships.

"I'm on (the Internet) every day," says Megla Vaitkevichiute, a sophomore at Palo Verde High School. "From the point that I get home from school to the point I go to bed."

But how far is the Internet reaching in its attempt to connect people and their world globally, locally and personally?

Though the myriad of tools the Internet possesses confirm its importance, such tools are replacing old techniques of seeking information or entertainment. Why lift a heavy book and flip through its many pages when Dictionary.com is just a couple of clicks away? Why open up a newspaper if news, movie showtimes and weather reports can be found online in seconds?

Gil Kahn, a junior at Advanced Technologies Academy, enjoys using the Internet. "I have to 'Google' everything." But he's not alone, he asserts. "There's people who are always on eBay, constantly looking at different bids and objects. It's insane."

Once a useful tool, now a near necessity, the Internet has transformed dramatically over the years, and so have its uses among teenagers. For many teens, gone are the hours spent on nightly phone conversations. Instead, that time has evolved into hours on AOL Instant Messenger, where users can talk with multiple people separately but simultaneously, or in chat rooms, where much is left to chance and trust.

E-mails seem a thing of the past in comparison to instant messaging, and surfing for the latest news isn't as fun as searching for dramatic, emotional blogs (online diaries, for those less Internet-savvy).

Yet, Internet use can be practical, logical, and not at all detrimental -- if it doesn't become the main communication medium. With the advent and rising popularity of sites such as Livejournal.com and MySpace.com, using the Internet as communication appeals much more to teens than do real-life situations.

Says Vaitkevichiute, "On AIM, you're always talking to someone, and it's harder to talk to people on the phone."

Suddenly, the glow of a computer screen seems more welcoming than a friendly face, and a message reading, "Joe wants to be your friend" feels better than being invited to meet somebody face-to-face.

MySpace.com offers a variety of communication channels, and accounts are free. Users can make their own page where they display pictures, personal information, favorites, interests and blog entries. The site also allows users to accept (or reject) friend requests and select new friends, if not rejected. "Friends" can post bulletins for all their friends to see, or simply leave a comment on a selected "friend's" page.

Kahn describes MySpace as "an awesome Web site. It allows people to stay connected despite time or distance. I have friends on MySpace that I haven't talked to since middle school." He adds, "It's great for during the summer."

So popular is this site, some teen users sign on for hours at a time. Some users gather a number of friends reaching three-digits, with almost double the number of comments as that of friends. Their network of possible friends reaches the thousands, and the possibilities are endless.

"I get a couple of friend requests every day," says Vaitkevichiute, who has "about 490" MySpace friends.

But can it be detrimental and distracting? Logging online for research may turn into compulsively checking new comments and messages.

Vaitkevichiute signs on to MySpace for one- or two-hour periods at a time, usually leaving only when she has to do homework or eat dinner. "But it's kind of addicting," she said.

Not all teens favor living most of their lives in cyberspace.

"I think (students overusing the Internet) need to have more social interaction than with the people they chat with online," says Myra Gonzales, a junior at Advanced Technologies Academy. "I think MySpace is just another trend that people follow. There's really no point to it."