#14 Open Post: Social Networking Sites

On CNN.com this week, there was an article written by Doug Gross about young children using social networking sites. According to two survey reports conducted this year by Pew Internet Research, 38% of children between the ages of 12 and 14 had an online profile of some sort. While those interviewed for this article seemed to find social networking sites appropriate for young children, a need for adult monitoring was also discussed.

Personally, I think social networking sites are okay for young children to use if they're used appropriately. This includes parent monitoring and access to the social sties, restricted access to information by those who are not friends, ongoing conversations with kids about how to handle situations that may arise. Young children do not necessarily know how to screen friends or deal with issues such as people say inappropriate things. Children may also not know what information is okay to share or not share. It is the responsibility of parents to help their children navigate through these sites.

Sadly, a family friend of ours was just released from jail for meeting a 13 year old girl on MySpace and carrying on a sexual relationship with her and her 15 year old friend. These girls' parents had no idea these relationships were going on for over a year. He would meet them at school and take them to a nearby hotel. While he claimed he did not know their ages to start, it became clear how young they were when he started meeting them at school.

While I believe it is the responsibility of parents to monitor computer activity at home and to teach children about the dangers of Internet use, I also think it is important for schools to educate students about the positives and negatives of Internet use. Students need to know how to protect themselves from predators. While students cannot see these predators, predators are still very real. Just as we teach our little kids about "stranger, danger," we need to teach our kids about strangers through the Internet. They need to know what kinds of behavior are not okay and how they can protect themselves. They also need to know who they can go to for help if they need it.