Now that IM is becoming more and more standard in the American home, I honestly believe that children need to be educated on the dangers of things such as social networking, chat rooms, and instant messagers. You know how, as a kid, you're taught not to take candy (or anything else) from strangers? And then, when you're a little older, you learn about all of the sex/puberty ED stuff? (Good lord, I remember having a panic attack and wishing I'd never given the permission form to my mom for that). Well, anyways, I think we have come to a point where society needs to incorporate IM safety into discussions on how to be safe, especially in the S/P ED range (because, you know, hormones and the emotions they stir are more in control at that age).
There are many sick people out there, and what better age to target than those who are on an emotional and physical roller coaster?
Think of all of the idiots who are sick enough to try and lure tweens into having sex with them. I mean, you see TV specials on these often. Quite frankly, I love watching the sting operations. It fills me with joy to think, "Haha asshole, you got caught! Sick F*%$!" I'd even love to be a bait person, if it meant catching some of those pervs. However, what about the times that it's not a sting operation...? And it is actually a young teen? That's the worrisome aspect of all of this. At that age, kids aren't thinking clearly; they want to fit in, they want to belong. Their bodies and interests are changing, but they aren't mature enough to always make wise decisions. They're very emotional, and often listen to their emotions, over rationality.
This also goes way beyond the whole sex aspect.
Megan Meier hadn't even reached her 14th birthday before her life tragically ended, all because of a social networking incident. Meier was a shy girl who dealt with depression, and was not very confident to begin with. She received a friend request from a "Josh Evans" on Myspace. Josh was an extremely good looking 16 year old in Megan's town. For awhile, Josh showered Megan with compliments and seemed genuinely interested in her. Then, things turned ugly. Josh began sending Megan rude messages. He finally send her one that said, "The world would be a better place without you." Tina Meier, Megan's mother, said she could tell something was wrong; Megan had been on the computer, and stormed up to her room in tears. Twenty minutes later, Tina went upstairs to check on Megan. She found her hanging from a belt around her neck in her closet. Megan was rushed to the hospital immediately, but died the next day despite numerous attempts to save her.
Six weeks after her death, Megan's parents discovered that Josh was not a real person. Josh was impersonated by Lori Drew; Megan and Lori's daughter had been friends at one point, but had a fall-out. Lori asked an 18 year old coworker if she could use his pictures to create a fake Myspace account, so should could taunt Megan. Although Drew was originally charged with 3 misdemeanors by a federal grand jury, a U.S. district judge threw out one of the three. The worst part of all is that Drew's daughter and Megan had been close enough to the point where Drew knew about Megan's depression; she knew she was messing with an already emotionally unstable, hormonal teenager.
I don't think Lori Drew received enough of a punishment. She knew Megan was unstable. And honestly, who messes with a young girl like that? What adult tells a 13 year old that the world would be better off without her? Megan was an innocent little girl, who was dealing with enough problems as it was.
My point is that, as wonderful as social networking and instant messager can be, there's a lot of safety issues that need to be considered, and they aren't limited to sexual predators. With cyber-bullying growing, children need to be educated on what to do when someone is bullying them online. Lori Drew didn't pull the trigger, but she sure as hell handed Megan the loaded gun. Kids are young, and they just don't know any better. Even when they do have a sense of right and wrong, there's that funny thing called emotions, and sadly, that often dictates their actions.
So I believe the time has come to be thoroughly educating children on internet safety. When I was Megan's age, it wasn't a real big deal, because my peers felt cool enough to have a computer, let alone the internet. Now that middle schoolers are walking around with, at the very least, cell phones, it's time to start making internet safety a priority in ALL schools.
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