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Hi Ken!
I've been following this on the news. It was just a matter of time, in my opinion. I don't see how it could have been avoided.
How does one verify age online? Kids grab their parents credit card to get into adult sites, so we still haven't resolved that issue. Credit card numbers don't prove adulthood... how on Earth do we prove age for minors?
Personally, I don't think that kids under 18 should be chatting with anyone over 18, unless they are family. If we could resolve the age verification glitch, then perhaps MySpace should create a separate 'space' for adults. MySpaceTeen, or MyKidSpace, and MySpace+. LOL
My 16 year-old son has a MySpace. So does his girlfriend, who lives 2500 miles from us.
I deal with my adolecent's Internet experience like this:
The only computer in the house that has Internet access is in my home office.
My computer requires a password in order to logon. (My son does not know the pw.)
I check in on him while he is online, to see what he's doing. I keeps tabs on the history of his travels too.
He's a good kid, and asks me to review his MySpace, to see if I can help make it better. ;-)
And, he shows me his friends' spaces too.
The only way that I know of to protect kids online, is to have a relationship with your kids. Communicate with them, and be an active part of their lives.
Sometimes, I think that people are afraid of talking to their kids. It's part of the job.
A parents job is to:
Love the child
Protect the child
Teach the child
Love the child enough to be interested in their life.
Protect the child by being active in their life.
Teach the child through communication, both verbal and by example.
Let them know that they can talk to you about anything.
As a parent, I feel it is my obligation to know how my children spend their time, and who they spend it with. If your child is spending hours on end, in their bedroom, don't you think it is a good idea to find out what they're up to?
As an interesting side note...
My 16 year-old son, Jerimiah, met his girlfriend online, in a role-playing chat.
She lives in New York, and we live in Colorado.
I have spoken with her parents on the phone, and I've met this lovely girl in person. She spent 3 weeks with us last summer, and she is coming out here to visit again, this summer.
Jerimiah does odd jobs around town, to earn his airfare to visit her too. He spent last Christmas with her family.
So you see, good things happen to kids online too.
I don't know if MySpace should be held responsible. What can they really do to prevent this kind of predation? Kids lie about their ages and so do adults. How do you verify?
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