Kids and The Internet

The "Experts" are just FLAT OUT WRONG! Partially right on premises.

Hey folks,

I just got done posting the Big Sunday Edition of the OPNTalk Blog when I caught this article about kids on the Interenet from the Sun Sentinel, a local paper here in South Florida. I have to take exception with the "Experts" on some of their points of view.

Back on December 09, 2007, I posted You Control Access To The Internet. I was talking about the case where an adult women, Lori Dew, allegedly played an online prank on 13 year old Megan Meier, who later committed suicide.

I was talking about how how Lori Dew had been blamed for the whole thing and how she was EVIL in the eyes of those in their home town. I said this.

STOP!!! OK, question. Did Tina Meier, Megan's Mother, know ANYTHING about what her daughter was doing? Did she know where her daughter was visiting online? Did she KNOW that this was happening? If not, WHY?

The question is still valid. Then I offered this advice.

I get "harassed" from time to time online. I get called names, wished death upon, told I should just go away. I've been in many battles over the years. You know what? If I really get to the point that I no longer what to deal with some of these people, I simply don't. There is software, and all kinds of ways, you can block them. You could stop going where they are. Or you can do what I do, just ignore them. When you ignore them, it get boring to them, who do it for a reaction, no reaction, they move on.

The advice is still valid. Then on Sunday March 9, 2007, the IWA winner WAS one of these so called "Experts." Idiot Says Internet Predators no big deal. I said this.

I still cannot get over this one. I really can’t. This guy is a complete Moron when it comes to this. He is sending a dangerous message to your kids, and to stupid adults out there. If they believe this Idiot, they will lower their already lacking concern and supervision on what their kids are doing on the Computer. There are almost no words for this one.

He sighted a study saying that there really are no Internet predators out there. Really no danger. The Parents are more likely to molest their kids. IT ACTUALLY SAID THIS. One of the points of the Study that really got me was this.

Myth #4: Most Internet predators are pedophiles.

The public largely assumes that people looking for sex online are targeting young children, but that's not true. In fact, most predators seek relationships and sex from teens and adolescents, not from younger children.

Yes 13 year olds are not as bad as 10 year olds. Come on folks, didn’t you know that?

I'm getting angry all over again. So what do I see yesterday morning? Sun Sentinel - 'Geeked out' kids can learn vital tech skills socializing online

Equipped with a mobile phone, laptop and Internet access, Heather Prince hangs out for hours a day on MySpace, YouTube and other venues in a virtual world baffling to her mother.

"Often I think she could be using her time doing something better," Annette Deuel said of her daughter, a senior at Tavares High School, near Orlando.

She could be. Do you have her passwords Mrs. Deuel? Do you know where she is REALLY visiting and who she is REALLY talking to?

"My mom doesn't get it," Heather, 17, said while scanning fresh postings on her MySpace page.

Many parents don't, says a new study regarded as the largest ever to examine how the Internet affects kids' social development and education. It concluded that Heather's and her mom's generational differences over the value of spending time online are common.

Which is TRULY SAD.

The report points out benefits for "geeked out" kids who take full advantage of such learning opportunities. They can find the freedom and encouragement to pursue interests that might not be popular with their school peers. They also become more technologically savvy.

"It might surprise parents to learn that it's not a waste of time for their teens to hang out online," said Mizuko Ito, a researcher from the University of California-Irvine, and lead author of the study. "There are myths about kids online — that it's dangerous or makes them lazy. But we found that spending time online is essential for young people to pick up social and technical skills they need to be competent citizens in our digital age."

WHAT ABOUT THE DANGERS Dr. Ito? Oh yeah, there is no danger.

The project, which began in 2005, was completed this summer and included interviews of 800 youths, ages 8 to 20, and their parents. The three-year study was supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which has pledged $50 million to explore how digital media are changing how young people learn, play, socialize and participate in civic life.

In an interview, Ito said today's kids socialize online in much the same way that their parents once hung out at the mall or their grandparents gathered at the soda fountain.

"It just looks really different from the social life their parents grew up with," she said.

Ito said the opportunities can be educational, though they're often peer-based and self-directed.

The findings might surprise parents, but not "wired" educators, said Rob Anderson, former principal at Orlando's Edgewater High School, which boasts magnet programs in engineering, science and technology.

"Folks who work with kids already know this," he said of the study's findings. "Parents might not like it, but they don't really have a choice. This is how the world is, and these things are not going away."

WRONG Mr. Anderson. WRONG! Parents DO have a choice. Parents NEED to control this. They NEED to have access at all times. THEY NEED TO PROTECT THEIR CHILDREN. Parents DO have a choice. Sorry. That is just fact. I know some in the Psychobabble community will not like this, but kids are kids, and PARENTS are PARENTS. The KIDS, have no Rights or privileges save those granted by the Parent. THAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE.

Anderson said online activities force kids to employ collaborative skills — as they share ideas and arguments with others who live worlds away. It also requires them to analyze, evaluate and synthesize information, a process that sharpens critical thinking.

Nonetheless, some parents remain wary of hanging out online, with lurking predators and many distractions.

"I know it's a different world now than what was available to us," said Midori Burton, who worries about the amount of time her 14-year-old son spends socializing online. "My concern is that when he goes into that digital field, I don't know who he's dealing with. With a push of a button, you can talk to anybody." She said she has tried to limit his online and texting times.

This is why it IS your job Mrs. Burton to MONITOR what she is doing. With a pull of the plug, she goes nowhere. It really is not a difficult concept to understand.

Heather Prince says she observes her parents' online rules.

"Be careful what you do there," she said. "My dad tells me the stuff on MySpace, for example, is a way for people to learn about me. He doesn't want me to have cuss words, gross things or inappropriate pictures there, so I don't."

Good Girl! Good Father. I hope he is checking from time to time.

The study suggests that kids learn quickly from other kids what's acceptable and what's not.

You know, {Sigh} I'm going to need a calming moment when I'm done with this GARBAGE today. Kids need NOT to be learning from OTHER KIDS what is acceptable. Some kids think it is acceptable to have BJ competitions at school dances. Some see it as acceptable to send naked photos of themselves over their cell phones. Some see "Bedding as many boys as you can" as acceptable. Some see drugs as OK, as long as you do not over do it.

PARENTS need to teach their kids what is acceptable and not. Not other kids. Here a little ray of sunshine in this otherwise completely absurd article.

It also concludes that the best way for parents to monitor their children's online life is to be part of it. Some interviews revealed that families bonded around the computer, by watching videos together, producing and posting their own media and through gaming, a central part of the online experience for many youths.

Along with that, make sure you have the passwords. Check where they are going when you are not around. Get software if you have too to track and record what they are doing. They do not like that, they do not go online.

"I think it's important for parents to understand that their kids are picking up sophisticated skills that will serve them in the future," Ito said. "Ten years ago it would have been hard to believe most kids would have a home page. Now more than half do, and they are filled with pictures, music and things that are important to them.

Online participation is becoming more and more essential in our society — it's how we associate professionally and interact socially."

OK. I have no problem, {Laughing} yeah believe it or not, with kids being online. I really do not have a problem with it. In limited and fully controlled doses. I'll give Dr. Ito credit here. She is right. We do live in an age of technology. No doubt about it. Kids being online is essential. Look at this past election. One of the news agencies used Holograms. That really was cool. Before you know it, we ALL will be. We will all be beaming all over the place and meeting and spending time with each other in ways we can only imaging now. I get all that.

However, there MUST BE RULES. No, not Big Brother monitoring and censoring everything we do, we need Big Parent. Big Mom, Big Dad. THEY need to monitoring and censoring everything that their KIDS do. It really is, just that simple.
Peter

Sources:
OPNTalk - You Control Access To The Internet
OPNTalk - Idiot Says Internet Predators no big deal
Sun Sentinel - 'Geeked out' kids can learn vital tech skills socializing online