January 31, 2006

In my day, we didn't have these fancy blog sites

Apparently the kids who write excruciating-to-read-barely-literate diaries on Xanga think it's all right to use pictures hosted by other people's servers as background images for their layouts and other such nonsense. No worries, all I had to do was take down or rename the pictures that they were ~~stealing~~ borrowing at my expense.

Here's the clincher...Do their parents KNOW what they are doing online? Do they realize the pictures and personal information that these kids are posting of themselves? If my daughter (or son, for that matter) ever posted the kinds of things that these kids are posting on their diaries, that would be the LAST she would see of her computer. My god! I was more upset about this than I was that they were using my bandwidth.

I'll be the first person to admit that the public education system has many faults. However, you can be sure that when I am using the internet with my students for research, I know what sites each and every one is visiting. I'm responsible for the online activity of up to thirty children at a time, and you can bet I don't need a net nanny to find out what they're up to.

I have a hard time believing parents of teenage girls and boys would be ok with the kinds of things I saw kids posting on Xanga, yet it seems to be commonplace. I'm guessing this means their parents have no idea. Am I being pollyanna-ish or is it reasonable to expect that parents should know what their kids are doing on the Internets and with whom?

Thank you! What a wonderful entry! You know, all this fuss about google and the government and protecting children, well, I'm sorry. True, I don't have children, but darn it anyway, where is mom and dad. I EZOp a Clay fanboard and we are constantly after the younger set who want to set up a blog with everything from their address to their bra size. I'm pretty sure I would have been a very strict parent. I have tested the system, oh yeah I have. I sat in a chat room for less than five minutes before being bombarded with offers from everything from . . . well, I don't need to tell you.
mac

Well, I AM a parent. I like to think a fairly successful parent. My son is 20 and fairly well-adjusted, although he is the youngest president of his fraternity in 40 something years. Might have some anal, must be in charge issues. But I find myself proud of him. I have been subscribed to his blog from day one... and his friends freak daily at what I laugh at. But they don't know what goes on behind the scenes. Yes, he is in college, is semi-independent, but he is still on the family tit, so therefore has to answer. I feel I have a close feel in his internet pulse.

Yet, on the opposing side. I have a 10 year old daughter. I feel many battle lines just forming. I am already bleeding on the envelope my gettysburgh address shall be written. I have NO idea how this will play out. She does have her own laptop, but has no internet access. Just a cd-rom drive for educational games. She is only allowed internet access from this computer. Which I _think_ I monitor fairly closely.

But remember, I am a stoopid 46 year old. I am sure she can slip some stuff past me. I slipped whole elephants past my mother, after all. YET, BY ALL THAT IS HOLY, I swear to you, Danielle, I shall be much more in touch with reality than my poor dear deluded mother was. Does that count???

Do I pass as a parent???? Please tell me I shall survive.