16yo flies off to the Middle East to meet someone she met on MySpace.
http://www.wndu.com/news/062006/news_50524.php
Katherine's mother, Shawn Lester said, "You always think it couldn't happen to you."
There's your first big mistake. I bet she didn't know *anything* about where she went online or what she did. I am certain she didn't know what her MySpace URL was.
" but now, I will not have a computer in my home."
There's mistake number 2. Now you are relying on other parents to keep an eye on what your kid does on *their* PCs.
"I'm just glad she's alive."
Start being glad of it *every* day not just the day she gets off a plane from Tel Aviv. This is 2006, wake up!
Katherine's mother, Shawn Lester...
Uhh wait a minute... the MUM is called SHAWN?
That explains it all.
*hic*
oops, too much Coke after lunch.
Have you checked out these 'my space' .com's and Zanga (or xanga).com...
We started checking them out, because we found out about some kids in school with my grandchild that were posting so much information.
Boy what an eye opener, especially when you realise you know some of these kids.
And the silly kids are posting their full names, dates of birth, and what time they are going to the mall, or to the movies.
How they sneak out at night, and where they meet their friends. Some are posting false ages, then post where they actually go to school.
They don't even realise how easy they are making it for predators, and where the he** are their parents...
I was shocked at how they talk, and some of the things they post... shock
And as for this girl that flew out of the country, how the hell did she get out of the country being a minor???
The TSA were too busy ordering the 90-year-old great-grandmother out of her wheelchair to pat her down to realise a minor was getting on a plane unattended?
My point about MySpace is what you are saying. It's not like the mother would have to read her chat logs, something really super advanced for the average user, but all she had to do was look at her MySpace page. Hell, talk to her about it. Find out what she's doing.
I can't believe these idiots are given children and people who know how they will care for their own are still waiting. It is one of the unfairest things in life.
Like the 10yo that picked up a Slim Fast shake in the convenience store near where we live. "I don't know what this is, but it looks good" she said 3 times to her dad? stepdad? momma's f.b.? who was yakking on the cellphone all the time they were in the store. (1) Why can't a 10yo read two four-letter words off a product, (2) why the hell would someone let a 10yo buy such an item? I give her 2 years to become anorexic.
From the related story - Lester told her mother she was going to Canada.
Would be interesting to know what the conversation was. "Hey mum, Im going to Canada." "Oh thats nice dear, do have a good time."
If I had said something similar to my parents at that age, I would have been padlocked in my room with an "Oh no you're not!".
Is it all part of this idea that you should treat your kids as mini-adults, where discipline, and settings rules are a no-no?
There are issues with MySpace at the university I work at. The latest was a girl who was contacted, supposedly for a job interview and met some guy at a local hotel. Fortunately, she smelled a rat (kind of late in the day but not too late) and left before anything developed but it was clear that she had been targeted from her MySpace page.
I think it's hard for some parents to know what their kids are doing online when their kids knowledge and experience with computers is far greater than their own.
It's too easy for those with very old, very young or no children to criticise the parents for being unaware of online activities (note, that does not include the "I'm going to Canada" remark) but even if all this is beyond their understanding, they are ultimately responsible and should at least ensure that their child's access to computers at home is limited to use in the family room and with time restrictions on doing things other than homework.
I wonder how many parents actually have the time, inclination and nerve to join something like My Space and really involve themselves in looking at all their children's ramblings and chitchat. Out of curiosity I went on there myself last night, did a search on the name of my town and up popped a dozen or so of our local High School students. None are known to me but in a few moments I learned some real names accompanied by photos. I was also bored out of my skull reading teenage twaddle! (I was utterly fascinating as a teenager myself ;) )
It isn't easy to really monitor a child's activities online - worse things happen when they are alone on computers than if they were out walking home late at night! I do think that kids need to have the rules explained and there should be severe consequences to breaking them.
The whole world needs to slow down!
A decent program like "Cyber Patrol" or "Net Nanny" would take care of a lot of these problems. They aren't that difficult to set up out of the box and can do things like restrict the type of websites children can visit, block on keywords, only allow access between certain hours and then count-down to shutdown and also prevent children entering personal information on webforms or into e-mails/instant messaging.
In short, I think one of those types of programs, in conjunction with what Kentgirl mentioned in terms of putting computers in family spaces and not just in the childrens' bedrooms, will certainly help keep kids safe in the 'wild west' of the Internet.
I think it's hard for some parents to know what their kids are doing online when their kids knowledge and experience with computers is far greater than their own.
It's too easy for those with very old, very young or no children to criticise the parents for being unaware of online activities (note, that does not include the "I'm going to Canada" remark) but even if all this is beyond their understanding, they are ultimately responsible and should at least ensure that their child's access to computers at home is limited to use in the family room and with time restrictions on doing things other than homework.
I wonder how many parents actually have the time, inclination and nerve to join something like My Space and really involve themselves in looking at all their children's ramblings and chitchat. Out of curiosity I went on there myself last night, did a search on the name of my town and up popped a dozen or so of our local High School students. None are known to me but in a few moments I learned some real names accompanied by photos. I was also bored out of my skull reading teenage twaddle! (I was utterly fascinating as a teenager myself ;) )
It isn't easy to really monitor a child's activities online - worse things happen when they are alone on computers than if they were out walking home late at night! I do think that kids need to have the rules explained and there should be severe consequences to breaking them.
The whole world needs to slow down!
completely agree, I am quite lucky, having worked int he business for the last 20 years, even though I am crap at it I can tell what my stepdaughter has been looking at and where she has been web wise. I have caught her a few times in a chat room and made her life completely miserable so she is not so inclined to go where she shouldn't now.
I even make her show me her record collection and I scroll through her phone logs. she complains about the lack of privacy...that obviuosly gets her a long way....
I wonder how many parents actually have the time, inclination and nerve to join something like My Space and really involve themselves in looking at all their children's ramblings and chitchat. Out of curiosity I went on there myself last night, did a search on the name of my town and up popped a dozen or so of our local High School students. None are known to me but in a few moments I learned some real names accompanied by photos. I was also bored out of my skull reading teenage twaddle! (I was utterly fascinating as a teenager myself ;) )
I have a myspace page and regularly go on and get access to my children's pages (older two). I won't butt into their conversations but I do know who they have been chatting to and who that person is so I can make conversation regarding them to see my children's reactions. I also have an AIM ID so I know when the kids are online and when they are not, what their away messages are (amazing how much they can give away :wink: ) and have quite a few of their friends IDs which their friends think is really cool - they don't know why I am on, they just think I am a cool mother. Again, you can soon figure out what is going on just by reading their away messages. We also have software that allows me to put each screen of the children's computers onto my own computer as the children are using their computers so I can see exactly what they are doing - I can also override their actions too :D
And KG, I totally agree with everything you are saying. And computers are becoming more of a necessity as children enter high school. the world is moving way too fast and it isn't always easy for parents to keep up with the technology. We are fortunate that our local library holds courses for computers but I have only ever seen one course on using the internet. The rest is how to word process - not much good for a parent wanting to monitor their children. We also received a letter recently telling us about some teenagers from our school district who had been using myspace inappropriately and asking parents if they know what their children are up to on the internet - but no offer of help for anyone who may need it or set instructions on how to get the information you may need to find out what your children are up to. Parents do have to take the time to find out about all these things if they want to keep a close eye on their children.
I also have myspace and Aim like Ben.
My son says parents shouldn't be allowed to get myspace but his friends all add me.
He has no say in it and I can check out him and his friends.