Our local newspaper ran a story, "Middle Schoolers report Facebook sex tape requests". I don't know how familiar you are with social networking sites such as FACEBOOK or MySpace, but you need to be. It is 2010 and Web 2.0 technology is here to stay. Like any tool, the Social Networking Sites (SNS) are in and of themselves not bad, but it is HOW they can be misused and by WHOM which is the concern. An adult from a foreign country electronically entered the homes of dozens of middle school students because their parents knowingly or unknowingly left the VIRTUAL DOORS open to their kids safety. This perverted adult asked kids through Facebook (SNS) to film themselves doing inappropriate things and send it to him.
It is my strong opinion that middle school kids should not be on social networking sites (SNS), and that high school students can be on social networking sites ONLY IF MONITORED by parents. After the age of 18, then they are adults but prior to that they need to be electronically supervised. For the high schooler, no access for parent = no access to SNS, period. (More on SNS on future blogs). Some topics for discussion:
- This foreign adult attempted to contact over 100 middle school students both male and female.
- He may have used a search engine based upon a story he saw in an online posting or newspaper article.
- MANY OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS contacted MISREPRESENTED THEMSELVES AS 18 year old ADULTS.
ON A POSITIVE NOTE: This was reported
after a cyber crime presentation was given a local group, Education Connection (from Litchfield, CT) at the middle school. The students reported it and an investigation was initiated. This is a great example of how education can be used to teach the vulnerabilities and associated responsibility that must be used in conjunction with the Internet to keep our children safe.
No comments:
Post a Comment