Online social networks important to teens

I feel like the best way for me to learn about current events is on Facebook.

When going online, I blast past the Google, New York Times, MSNBC and other informational Web sites in relentless pursuit of my most visited Web page, Facebook.

I had no idea about the situation in Haiti until support groups began popping up right and left on my news feed. So-and-so became a fan of, “For every person who joins, $1 dollar goes to Haiti.”

I thought to myself: “What?”

Enter the relief music that began to surface. Rihanna’s moving redemption song, then a cover of "Lean on Me" preformed by Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban and Kid Rock and iTunes #1 single of the week: Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris’s "Hallelujah." In a little more than a week, an all-star lineup of performers collaborated to create the “Hope for Haiti” mix tape.

One may suppose this is next in news, social media paving the way and allowing teenagers to learn about and become involved in the world around them.