The majority of people if asked would say that they are doing their best in raising their children and teaching them right from wrong.
Im sure the parents of the children that bullied me would have said the same, or the parents of a child who pushed another child to suicide online..
There needs to be a way to protect children online whilst allow them to enjoy the benefits of Social Media... and as I have said before... making people identify themselves when they create a profile would be a good start. I don't even feel that we have to define what Cyber Bullying is, the mere fact that as a Social Media user who has as part of the sign up process had to identify themselves through verification should eliminate the most serious offences of Grooming, and Vilification that currently goes on, as the perpetrator knows that they can easily be traced...
Scott---I beg to differ: I was raised to respect others at all times. I had to say 'yes sir' and 'no maim ' to all seniors or I would get the beating of my young life. Parents back then use to talk to each other and if you did something wrong, you better have a good excuse.
My kids grew up close to the same way. Yes, they got whippings (not the beatings I got), things like the TV, Radio, Atari, etc.were taken away from them and the most important of all (in my opinion) they had Jesus in their life. They were not bullies then nor did they become bullies at any time after they became adults (18). Yes they went to public schools and are the better for it. One of my axioms about raising children is: If you cannot give them (the child) the morals, the ability to determine right from wrong, good work ethics, good social ethics, etc. by the age of 15, you as a parent have failed because after that age (and it might be younger in the inner cities) you , the parent, will NOT be able to teach them at all until they get in their thirties. At this time, they will ask and you can teach them as peers.
All parents try to do their best, bullying will never be eradicated no matter how good a parent you are, unless we plan to replace all our children with Stepford Kids... (check out an old sci fi phrase for robotic children)
The internet, computer games, facebook, chat lines, email, twitter, blogs, etc. is as you say, the problem however, it is also an
Freedom of Speech. These are three words we cherish so much here in the U.S.
It all begins with the parent and if they do not take time to teach the children about the evils within each one of the above then the child should be considered about the same a walking the streets of any large city alone. Would you want that for your child or grandchild?
The real question I ask you in my last posting was when did the word "NO" mean nothing. I grew up without a cell phone and internet, my kids grew up with the beginnings of the internet and now my grandchildren in their pre-teens are enjoying the clean games that are available, a cell phone to talk to their friends within the hours after school and bedtime, NO internet (except for school projects), NO twitter account, No email, etc.. NO, I did not impose these restrictions on them (already did that in my earlier years), my kids did that for themselves. Am very proud of them as you can tell.
YOU can put all the restrictions you want to on the internet but it will not help. You cannot even put in a restriction on age of the user since you cannot verify the age of the person. The only viable way to control the internet is to insert a chip in every person which the internet can then scan and determine their age and other things. Sounds like the mark of the beast? Do you really want to go there.
There needs to be a way to protect children online whilst allow them to enjoy the benefits of Social Media.
Why do they need Social Media??????? The word 'friend' has changed from someone close to you, someone you have shared experiences with, etc. to someone on the internet you have never met, know nothing about, in alot of cases, don't know what they look like, etc. Does it ring a bell? It is ok for adults, like us, because we can exchange philosophies and other ideas without becoming 'damaged' ourselves.
But for Children, in my book it is a big NO!
Have a nice day :>)
Bladerunner
