Dear World, read my diary

Online diaries have become a well-known phenomenon in recent years, with teenagers and young adults attracted to the genre in huge numbers. Raised on the Internet and reality television, these diarists make their writing accessible to friends, acquaintances and, often, to hundreds of millions of World Wide Web users. Many include their full names and school names.

Parents, teachers and police constantly urge young people not to reveal too much about themselves online. They warn that personal disclosures might be read by college admissions officers and potential employers, not to mention stalkers and paedophiles. The risks were underscored in a highly publicised 2005 Virginia murder case in which investigators looked for clues in the online journals of college student Taylor Behl and her killer.

One entry from a high school student read: 8220;Unfortunately I feel very distant from everyone. 8230; Maybe it8217;s just how I function. I think its probably my worst flaw.8221;

8220;i feel she could be the one i know it is crazy because well i am 18 and all that but i really do i am just scared i have never let someone get as close to me as i have let her.8221;

8220;i feel 8230; invisible.8221;

It8217;s impossible to determine how many young people keep online diaries, but companies that operate major blogging and networking sites 8212; such as Xanga, LiveJournal and MySpace 8212; say the numbers of teenagers and young adults that use them are in the millions.

Young people point out that posting private thoughts in a public forum has become more acceptable with the rise of cultural phenomena such as PostSecret, a popular website that displays postcards emblazoned with senders8217; secrets. Xanga, LiveJournal and MySpace all give users the option of making their blogs accessible only to approved readers.

Many young bloggers say they don8217;t think people other than friends are reading their journals. Some contend that the Internet is a safer place for their inner thoughts than a book that can be found by parents or siblings.

Parents are less sure.

The O8217;Connors8217; mother, Karen, said she was appalled when her four children started keeping online journals. 8220;I just thought it was terrible, horrible. I just couldn8217;t imagine why you would put your feelings and personal comments on something that just went out there.8221; She now sees good and bad in it. 8220;You probably know your friends better because they put everything on LiveJournal.8221;

Gerald Goodman, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California at Los Angeles, said young bloggers are following a deep human impulse. 8220;This is practically genetic, this need to be known by another human,8221; he said. But Goodman said he worries there is a downside for those who rely too much on such communication.

8220;It8217;s not real 8212; it8217;s like phone sex or something; it8217;s partial.

As they grow up, what happens to how they manage their vulnerability and their disclosure and their risk-taking in human relations?8221;

8212;Tara Bahrampour / LATWP