OMG MYSPACE KILLS SAVE OUR CHILDREN!!!!11!!
So I got this call today from a concerned parent, one of my son's friend's mothers... who told me that they were having an emergency meeting down at the high school. Considering that every 'emergency meeting' is about something totally stupid, I had to try pretty hard not to just laugh and hang up. (For example sake here, the last one was because Paris Hilton wanted to be a teacher's aide at the school for her Simple Life show). Today's moral outrage? MySpace.
According to said mother, they were having a meeting warning parents about the dangers of MySpace, and how almost every kid has one now, and who knows what they could be messaging about? And there was a KILLER who had a MySpace, so that means that our children could be being exposed to criminals on the internet! Imagine that! She told me that she was bringing all her kids down to the school right away, so that they'd know why they shouldn't have a myspace in case they were thinking about making one. I didn't have the heart to tell her that all three of her kids have a myspace already. Why doesn't she know that? Because her kids, like about 70% of kids I know, are afraid to talk to their parents about anything they do on the internet because they're sure their parents are going to freak out and overreact.
I told her that not only do all three of my kids have MySpaces, but also so do I. What do they do on MySpace? Message their friends, send annoying bulletins (I know because I'm on their friends list and they message me to ask what's for dinner, and send out silly survey things all the time), and decorate their pages. Has anything awful happened from this? Well, they learned some basic computer and CSS / HTML skills, and their grammar and spelling have gotten better because they write more. Their typing speed has improved. This mother was SHOCKED and APPALLED that I would condone such things as MySpace, and said that I should take myself and the kids to this meeting straightaway to learn the truth about how dangerous myspace really was.
If I had gone to the meeting, it would have only been to point out how ridiculous they all were being. Why don't I worry about my kids on the internet? Because I taught them how to use the internet responsibly, and taught them to be smart and sensible in general. I also provide a good example for them with my own internet habits. That's really all parents need to do. Do I 'keep tabs' on them? I don't read their mail or their messages on a regular basis, no. But they'll call me over to show me something someone has written to them that they find funny, and if I walk into the room while they're IMing someone they don't hurry to close the window, because they know I'm not there to give them the third degree about what topic they're on.
Mass hysteria over two unrelated events annoys me. The killer in question isn't on the loose - in fact, he's now quite dead. So why does it matter that he had a MySpace? That's like saying "Oh my god, a criminal walked past me in the street once - I should never go outside again!" Millions of people use MySpace. Many of them are stupid. Some of them are psychotic. Why, that's just like the 'real world', innit?
As my son said to me, while rolling his eyes "Why are they so worked up? You know, if you don't want someone on myspace to contact you, you can just hit Block. It's right on the profile."
I think my 13 year old makes a lot more sense than the adults here.
/end rant
According to said mother, they were having a meeting warning parents about the dangers of MySpace, and how almost every kid has one now, and who knows what they could be messaging about? And there was a KILLER who had a MySpace, so that means that our children could be being exposed to criminals on the internet! Imagine that! She told me that she was bringing all her kids down to the school right away, so that they'd know why they shouldn't have a myspace in case they were thinking about making one. I didn't have the heart to tell her that all three of her kids have a myspace already. Why doesn't she know that? Because her kids, like about 70% of kids I know, are afraid to talk to their parents about anything they do on the internet because they're sure their parents are going to freak out and overreact.
I told her that not only do all three of my kids have MySpaces, but also so do I. What do they do on MySpace? Message their friends, send annoying bulletins (I know because I'm on their friends list and they message me to ask what's for dinner, and send out silly survey things all the time), and decorate their pages. Has anything awful happened from this? Well, they learned some basic computer and CSS / HTML skills, and their grammar and spelling have gotten better because they write more. Their typing speed has improved. This mother was SHOCKED and APPALLED that I would condone such things as MySpace, and said that I should take myself and the kids to this meeting straightaway to learn the truth about how dangerous myspace really was.
If I had gone to the meeting, it would have only been to point out how ridiculous they all were being. Why don't I worry about my kids on the internet? Because I taught them how to use the internet responsibly, and taught them to be smart and sensible in general. I also provide a good example for them with my own internet habits. That's really all parents need to do. Do I 'keep tabs' on them? I don't read their mail or their messages on a regular basis, no. But they'll call me over to show me something someone has written to them that they find funny, and if I walk into the room while they're IMing someone they don't hurry to close the window, because they know I'm not there to give them the third degree about what topic they're on.
Mass hysteria over two unrelated events annoys me. The killer in question isn't on the loose - in fact, he's now quite dead. So why does it matter that he had a MySpace? That's like saying "Oh my god, a criminal walked past me in the street once - I should never go outside again!" Millions of people use MySpace. Many of them are stupid. Some of them are psychotic. Why, that's just like the 'real world', innit?
As my son said to me, while rolling his eyes "Why are they so worked up? You know, if you don't want someone on myspace to contact you, you can just hit Block. It's right on the profile."
I think my 13 year old makes a lot more sense than the adults here.
/end rant