Parenting? What’s that? January 20, 2005
Posted by Owen in : Website , 1 comment so farHere’s a email I received a few days ago (I love her (misspelled) use of titillated–classic):
Hello - I am a mom of an 11 year old computer savvy girl. She and many of her classmates -all 11 & 12 year olds have profiles with you. I am shocked and horrified by what these kids are doing. The anonmomity of the computer gives these kids a lot of power to do things that are disgusting and age inapppropriate. It’s obviously not that hard to LIE and say they are 13 years old and start a profile. These kids are not monitored enough - though I TRY - so the information and the sites they create are sick, and X rated. Unfortunately with kids growing up so fast and exposed to things way beyond their scope of understanding and coping, they are titallated by what they can do. And sites like yours give them the opportunity! SHAME ON YOU!!!
It really bothers me how little parenting some parents want to do. Sending me a nasty email isn’t going to accomplish anything! What does she think I’m going to do? Stop running my website and throw away my livelihood? Ask for a credit card number and call three references to verify someone’s age (which may I add is essentially illegal to do in the United States)? C’mon! Do some parenting and talk to your kids. If they use the Internet they will do things you don’t approve of. And if they don’t talk about such things on the Internet, their friends will tell them. You can’t keep them locked up forever. Accept that the Internet has changed things and learn to accept it. Kids grow up fast these days, and there ain’t nothing you can do about it.