Myspace.com Follow-up

Last month, I posted an article entitled, "Don't Get Trapped in the Web" which warned parents of the dangers facing our children and our nation. Some thought I was an "alarmist," but time is now telling the story. Dateline NBC has since hosted two full hours of programming to raise awareness of the dangers surrounding Myspace.com. These programs revealed how pedophiles are setting up meetings with young girls and boys. Instead of the teen arriving for the meeting, the pedophiles were surprised by FBI agents and law enforcement. They were caught and arrested!

It didn't stop there! CNN has since done numerous reports regarding the same subject. A local teen in our area was expelled from a public school for what she posted on her website. A sting operation in our area resulted in the apprehension of a local pedophile tracked through Myspace.com. South Carolina Law Enforcement Division(S.L.E.D.) is now carefully investigating internet usage and myspace.com sites in our area. Even Sonoco has listed Internet safety among its top public safety concerns this year.

Why am I rehashing this issue? Because even when informed, some parents are naive! They look only at their child's site and think everything is okay. If they knew the workings of the site, they would be appauled. Too often, people hide their heads in the sand and think this kind of "stuff" doesn't happen in a small town... well it does and is!

I'm sure some still feel (and even argue) that reading your child's web page is an invasion of privacy. I remind you that when your child posts something to the "WORLD WIDE WEB," it is not noble to respect their privacy... it's ignorant and irresponsible! Everyone else in the WORLD has access to your child's thoughts, why should you be the only one who doesn't? Your children have plenty of "friends," they need you to be a parent. They may not "like" your action now, but they will "love" you for it later.