Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.
No decent person, especially a parent, likes to hear of incidents where children are preyed upon by low life adults. However, the latest ruling in a Texas court case absolving MySpace of the blame for an alleged sexual assault on a 13 year old girl by a 19 year old stranger she met online highlights a critical issue, personal responsibility.
There are probably more ways for a kid to get
into trouble online than there are in the physical world. However, if
MySpace and other social networking sites are to be prosecuted when
kids go and do things they shouldn't, then you may as well shut down
shopping malls, where kids hang out and do things they shouldn't.
The Internet can be a fantastic resource for kids and adults alike. In
many cases these days, children use the net as a research tool to help
them with homework assignments and as a way for staying touch with
their friends.
MySpace, which is designed to be used by children over the age of 14
and adults, can also be a fantastic resource for like-minded people
with similar interests to form online clubs and discussion groups.
Obviously, the system is open to abuse. A clever child can pose as an
adult and even the smartest automated online system can't tell the
difference.
Just as no software is impervious to a determined hacker, try as it
might, MySpace or any other social networking site, with current
technology, will never be able to stop a determined youngster from
fooling the system. However, proper education from parents and schools
are the best way to teach kids how to stay safe in an unsafe world.
When I was a young kid, a police officer visited my class at school and
for an hour taught us all about a variety of ways of staying out of
trouble, whether it was crossing the road or not talking to strangers.
That lesson stayed with me to this day and full marks to all the
schools and the police force in my state who initiated that program.
Likewise, we should be teaching our kids both at home and at school
about how to stay safe when going online. That's our best bet to avoid
tragic incidents like ones for which MySpace is currently be sued.
MySpace is the most popular social networking site on the Internet. If
there is to be any criticism of the site, then it probably tries to
appeal to a demographic that's too wide. After all, no parents want to
think that their 14 year old kids might be socially interacting online
with 30 year old adults.
MySpace tries to address this issue by segmenting its user base and
implementing safety procedures. However, perhaps it's time for the site
to spin off a new site to cater strictly for its 14 to 17 year old
members and leave the existing site for adults who can be held
accountable for their actions.
David Frost
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