“MySpace.com, the social networking Internet site that is widely popular with young people but has alarmed some parents and law enforcement officials concerned about sexual predators, announced today that it is hiring a former federal prosecutor to be its first chief security officer.”
Worrying about kids is well and good… but couldn’t these pedophiles be doing this at the local park instead of online? Do we have “Chief Security Officers” for the local playground that do nothing but watch for pedophiles?
It’s something to think about.
You may wonder why I’m on about this… it’s because kids are going to use these tools whether you want them to or not. I say, TALK to your kids about internet safety, get involved in what they’re doing and let them know that they are not working in a vacuum; that anyone, anywhere can see what they post. For that matter, make yourself a MySpace account and make your kid your friend. But don’t, DON’T assume that the companies providing the service will do an effective job of keeping baddies away from your kids. It is your job to teach your kids effective strategies for dealing with baddies wherever they are, be that in the park or online.
Librarians: A class on internet ethics and responsible internet use for teens can certainly not hurt. Pair it with pizza and prizes of iTunes music cards and you’re set. Have the kids share their MySpace or Friendster pages… suggest that perhaps if they are not comfortable sharing what they’re posting with their peers over a projector in the public space of the library, that maybe what they’re posting isn’t really appropriate to be posted on the internet. Illustrate to them that the internet is no different from any public space, and that if they wouldn’t do it in the library (read, in public) then it’s probably not appropriate for posting on the internet either.
Let’s get this straight, I don’t want you to censor your kids… I want them to learn to censor themselves.
Comment By: joshua m. neff
April 13th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
MySpace is really no different from any physical space a child could spend time on–in fact, it’s safer, because no one could really force a child to do anything against their will online, but in a physical space, they could. But pedophiles could be at public parks, shopping malls, schools, or, yes, libraries.
You’re completely right–adults need to talk with children, prepare them for handling themselves in online environments, stay involved. If you wouldn’t let your child hang out at a mall without an adult, don’t let them get online without an adult.
A class on internet ethics is a good idea…
Comment By: Liz
April 13th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
It occurred to me today that maybe librarians should TEACH MySpace for teens and get in on the ground floor of that educating them about what is appropriate instead of trying to retroactively change the behavior of kids.
We already know they love MySpace… why not capitalize on it and teach them something about being responsible online at the same time?
It might integrate nicely into a talk about Information Literacy (and might be a fun hands on activity!).
Comment By: joshua m. neff
April 13th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
I’m teaching an “Introduction to the Internet” class next week at my library, and it’s very basic–how to get online, how to use a web browser, etc.
But I would *love* to do a sequel class that would be something like “Introduction to Web 2.0″ (but not called that), teaching people how to start a blog, how to use a wiki, and how to use social software like MySpace. At this point, I don’t know how much of a demand there is for a class like that, but it would be worth it to find out…
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