Big brains from Harvard lead MySpace task force – but why?
by Steve Ragan - Mar 3 2008, 09:00
Talkback
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Can i please geton myspace
Thank you for your comments on the Internet Safety Task Force. I find it hard to believe that people are willing to spend so much money creating task forces when the solution is simple. Teach the parents how to parent this unique generation. Quite honestly, this generation, who were raised knowing nothing but a technological, cyberspace world, is the most radically different generation in a long time, perhaps ever. They are multitasking geniuses and so tech-savvy that something new is adopted with unbelievable speed. Their parents need help in understanding them and helping them to keep their world safe while not destroying their social life which is dependent on technologies such as the cell phone, texting, MySpace, etc.
Dr. Larry Rosen
Professor of Psychology
CSU Dominguez Hills
Author of 'Me, MySpace, and I: Parenting the Net Generation'
The last I looked, Net Nanny was the 2008 PC Mag Editor's Choice for parental controls.
Of course parents are the best tool and should assume responsibility and be engaged with what their kids are doing - but do you believe this will stop the abundant flow of revenue generating content - including blogs, ads and spam from the pornography, gambling and pill industries from reaching our children? Parental involvement alone will not do this.
Do folks understand that Internet filters like Net Nanny are the American solution to a delicate issue instead of legislation that proposes federal agencies attempt to regulate content on the Internet at the ISP level?
You see Net Nanny - and filters like it, that allow parents to determine what type of content is filtered and monitored actually protect freedom of speech and empower families to enforce their own decency standards.
So while Dr. Rosen may dismiss technological solutions, they are certainly a viable tool in any parents child safety toolbox.
Freedom of Speech is a misnomer here. I hear very little 'speech,' and I SEE a lot of objectionable content that our children are being exposed to against every parent's better judgment. Much of this content is posted on sites such as MySpace.com. It is being posted by our children, too, which shows that their exposure to such sites warps their judgment about what is appropriate.
Children would not be permitted to purvey the offerings in an X-rated video store, yet some misguided force in our society thinks it is important that no restrictions be placed on the Internet when these same children are exposed to porn on their own computers in their own homes. And filtering software is a joke--made available, again, by so-called 'adults' who think that censorship for children is some kind of affront.
It's time that real grown-ups start running things again--real adults who care about the safety and well-being of our children in all areas of their development: physical, social, academic, moral, and spiritual.
Only then will there be real change.
www.moralert.com
@VJ
Net Nanny is a valuable tool. So is using your router to cut off access to certain sites.
My point is both of those tech solutions can be circumvented.
We both agree that parents need to be involved, but the press seems to think this Harvard group will be the end all be all to the issue. FALSE.
Most parents I know, including some who are friends to my son, have no clue what their boys do online. IMO, that is sad. I'm not arguing that parents control their kids, or keep them away from questionable materials. I want parents to understand, and communicate with their kids.
Most of the issues start when you attempt to 'force your will' on your kids. Both my boys know their limits online, and according to the logs I have here at the house they honestly attempt to follow them. They know why I set the rules I have, and they also know that if they ask first I will allow them access to anything on the net.
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brianniaMar 3rd, 2008 - 16:14:17
wats up
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