So a month or two ago we talked about the dangers of MySpace but i came across the article and it is just absolutely disturbing about online statistics with children. Here are some facts from the article.
-- 61% of 13- to 17-year-olds have a personal profile on sites such as MySpace, Friendster, or Xanga. Half have posted pictures of themselves online.
-- 14% have actually met face-to-face with a person they had known only through the Internet (9% of 13- to 15-year-olds and 22% of 16- to 17-year-olds).
-- When teens receive messages online from someone they don't know, 40% usually reply to and chat with that person.
-- As well, 37% of 13- to 17-year-olds said they're "not very concerned" or "not at all concerned" about someone using personal information they've posted online in ways they haven't approved.
-- Fully 22% of those surveyed reported their parents or guardians have never discussed Internet safety with them. -- On the other hand, 36% of youth--girls and younger teens, most notably--said their parents or guardians have talked to them "a lot" about online safety, and 70% said their parents or guardians have discussed the subject with them during the past year.
I included the link to the entire article but it just shocks me with every story that comes out how vulnerable kids are and how unsafe parents can be!
Can you say, dumb? Im sorry if i offend anyone, but anyone in their right mind should know that if some stranger you met on MySpace wants to meet you, sirens should be going off in your brain saying, "Hey, you probably dont want to be murdered/kidnapped/raped!"
I do have a MySpace, but 99% of the people on my friends list i know in person or are bands, the rest i really dont talk to, because they added me. I do not post things such as my phone number, address, etc.
My best friend met her boyfriend online, and I tried to talk her out of it, but it turned out for the best, he and his family came up here for her prom and everyone got to know each other, and I was incredibly relieved, cause he's a great guy with a nice family. Its pretty hard for me to feel sorry for kids that do this and get themselves into trouble. I guess ive never really been on the same level with kids my age. Sometimes i cant believe how moronic people can be. At least my friend met this guy with her family around, not alone like most kids would do...
Both of my kids have MySpace and Xanga sites - my oldest is almost 19 now so he's kinda on his own but my youngest is 15-1/2. I have never sheltered my kids from the outside world - they are both totally cognizant of what goes on in the world. My sister used to accuse me of telling my kids things they weren't old enough to know about, but she and I don't exactly see eye to eye on how to raise children.
Kids can't afford to be uninformed about things these days - I believe that the concept of "childhood innocence" has changed. Of course, I was raised by a hippie so even in the 60s and 70s I had an extensive education and no subject was off limits in my family. My mother believed that questions existed to be answered and I believe the same thing.
I didnt want to start a whole myspace debate again because i know in the past we have discussed how kids/adults/everyone should be safe online a few months ago. And I cardsfan, you should hear sirens going off. But according to these statistics kids online still are not being smart and it baffles me. There has been so much on internet safety just in thepast 6 months, i hope if they were to do a study again that the percentages would change. This research is done by NCMEC/Cybertipline and they are the ones actually gettting the reports. As savvy as just the people on this board are, I guess i just forget how vulnerable some are as well as lack of parenting. Is there anything else we can attribute to this?
Unfortunatley, I think this boils down to a parenting issue. Saying, "don't talk to strangers" isn't enough anymore. My opinion is that the internet and myspace type sites serve a positive purpose when used by teens as long as those teens are properly supervised. I know parents who won't let their kids leave the house without asking them where they will be and who they will be with but don't think twice about who they are hanging out with on the computer behind the closed doors of their bedrooms. I imagine these statistics would change if fewer parents allowed their teens (especially younger ones) private access to their computers. Put one computer in a family area and let the kids share it and I bet the kids would tend to be much more careful about the sites they visit and what they post on those sites.
I don't shelter my children...no topic is avoided, just discussed in an age appropriate manner. I don't intend that to change once they become teens. But a parent has to maintain a certain amount of control over their children's behavior and that seems to be happening a lot less these days.
my sister's one of those. She made some really unwise decisions and met some people she wished she never did and almost got herself kidnapped once by a cocaine dealer. But oddly enough, that one time experience doesn't scare her from meeting online strangers. I hate this so much but there's nothing I can do to keep her from doing it unless I chained her to the hosue myself.
Something else to keep in mind is that the part of the brain that governs forethought is the last to mature. In adults, the frontal lobe is used to make decisions, but in teenagers the parts of the brain that handle emotions make decisions. This is where we get the teenagers' tendency to act first and consider the consequences later - to do what feels good regardless of what parents or other adults say.
We have some kids in Dallas who delivered marijuana laced muffins to a high school and sent a bunch of people to the hospital. They are facing second degree felony charges and may go to jail. Adults can't fathom what these kids were thinking, but it isn't taken into account that they weren't thinking with the same part of the brain the adults are. If a teen has any kind of problem that impairs thought processes, any governor that may exist in their brains (fear of parents or other authorities, for example) can be completely overrun by the rush of the "prank."
I know I did some REALLY stupid things as a teenager - most under the influence, I have to admit. What was important was the rush and the acceptance of my peers and the "fun" - there was no rational thought involved. I often wonder what I would have done if there had been an internet when I was a teenager.
I just wanted to post my opinion here too. :-D I agree with cardsfan, as I too have a myspace page - I'm 26 yo and i've learned how to be careful on the 'net (i've done dating sites such as match.com as well)...so I agree with her that it comes down to the parenting and that sirins SHOULD be going off...HOWEVER - I also somewhat agree with the other side too. unfortunately, too many teenagers do NOT think. I'm just now getting to the point in my life where I literally have to stop myself and MAKE myself re-think about situations and I know that there's many things in my past that I've dealt with where I realize now I wasn't thinking and I would kill to go back and re-do some of those situations - but I can't - and, luckily I HAVE learned from those mistakes...but of course, I understand that many teens & early 20 somethings DON'T learn or really unfortunately don't live long enough TO learn...
I dunno - it's just that - personally I like sites such as Myspace & Livejournal (and i have accounts on both) - because it lets you #1 express your individuality, #2 hook up with old friends from high school & college, & #3 - as many people on 3fatchicks know - blogging is a great way to get out your emotions and also a good way to have your friends know what's going on, if you're too shy to actually tell them some things (although, unfortunately, as i know from past experiences....blogging can also cause too much "real-life drama" too...) but the other thing is - as someone else said - unfortunately, kids just DON'T think. but we also aren't going to be able to make myspace or any other online site "mature / responsible adults only" that's just not going to happen. to me - and no, i'm not a parent yet - but honestly - when it comes to teenagers - you're da**ed if you do and you're da**ed if you don't.
Teens and Online Statistics
but my youngest is 15-1/2. I have never sheltered my kids from the outside world - they are both totally cognizant of what goes on in the world. My sister used to accuse me of telling my kids things they weren't old enough to know about, but she and I don't exactly see eye to eye on how to raise children. 
