05.06.07
Parent Say Internet Worse than STDs
Violent bullies and sexually transmitted diseases need to step aside: there’s a new teenage terror in town. It’s name? The Internet, according to parents in a new national poll on children’s health. The poll, by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, asked parents to rate various health threats. Internet safety finished above school violence, sexually transmitted diseases, abuse and neglect.
Normally I’d just assume that the poll had been conducted among Amish families and move on with my life. But the problem with such results, as pointed out by Duncan Riley speaking for TechCrunch, is much more invasive:
The report notes: “state and federal legislators appear to have responded to public concerns about Internet safety for children, considering new legislation and issuing consumer alerts”.
The ongoing campaign to whip up hysteria around the risks for children in social networking by some segments of the media is clearly working.
As a parent I’m appalled – not because there aren’t troublesome things on the Internet. But because otherwise rational parents can be so swayed by sensationalistic coverage of new technologies that suddenly MySpace is scarier than syphilis. If you’re a parent take the time to understand – NOT JUST LECTURE IN GENERALITIES – what your kids are doing online. Help them understand not just what behavior you want them to have but why.
I can’t help but think we’re at the same stage now where Rock ‘n Roll was a half-century ago. Then an incredible medium for self expression was condemned as ‘the devils music’ by those who didn’t bother to understand it. As a culture we moved beyond that particular fear mongering. And, as a culture, we’re also apparently doomed to repeat that same stupidity all over again.