For some, this may be old news or as you read this it might bring some struggles of the past with your teenagers but let me tell you the last week or so - I have been learning more about myspace than I ever wanted to know.
A week ago and all the time leading up to having to learn about myspace, until my neice who is 14 put something on her account that caught the eye of her aunt - I had no use for it. ZERO.
Basically - after learning about it and going into some details - I still have zero use for it.
For a place for mostly teens to share web space - pictures - email - chats - music and other such stuff that might be really important to teenagers ... there is not a parent that will not have to learn about this sooner or later. Being 14 and a girl ... perception is so vitally important even if at 14 you see the good in all people and all things are harmless and everyone else is doing it. But that doesnt make it right. I have parents around me who have teenagers and God BLESS you all - especially the parents with young teenage girls. Why do I need 1184 friends who I have no clue who they are - or who they really are?
My son is 10 and all boy ... he basically has no use for this stuff yet & for email but those times will soon change and as a parent we have to be ready to face this techno age - chat and instant message age because we dont know what creep will be either at our door step or our child going to a strangers doorstep. You hear about things everyday on the news..... and even in our small towns.
For parents - it is our duty to watch over our children - to monitor what takes place in our homes - to steer our kids to good friends and to pray our faces off for them - to lead them by example and to love them unconditionally. If that means deleting the myspace account, removal of text messaging, taking the cell phones, having ground rules for internet access until like 8pm at night and for only 2 hours a day, placing the computer in a place in the home where its not hidden and if they have to close down 20 screens/windows when you walk by - you better ask questions because they are hiding something! Youtube needs to have parental controls or atleast filtered for age appropriate things but no matter what technology we put in place - Parental involvement is the best solution.
I am not sure why I have this on me today - maybe because it is a conversation that I am going to have to have with my neice next week. Maybe because I needed to learn more about this subject before my son is there. I do know after being on some myspaces pages there would be some angry parents out there if they ever knew their son or daughter were doing/saying/posing/cussing and other such things.
Did you know that even to be a teacher these days - reference checks are done on these web domains to really check out their potentional hires? Some refuse to hire if their teachers have a myspace of facebook account. What if, the things we have on line right now - on all our computers, files, web pages etc... were made public? If there is something embarrasing - then maybe you need to delete it.
Here is a website to help you learn a little IM lingo - www.lingo2word.com
lol - lots of love or laugh out loud
411 - info
kpc -keep parents clueless
pos - parent over shoulder
420 - marijuana
gtg - got to go
bfn - by for now
this is REALLY the basics and I guess by now is "Old School" - I have never sent a text message nor do I have any desire to do so at least at this time. Kyle asked Carol and I a few weeks for a cell phone - we gave him walkie talkies for when he is out at the neighbors or down at the creek. 10 years old? Cell phone? LOL
anyways - why can't we just pick up the phone anymore and talk to the person we want to talk to? Email is good still right? Or better yet - face to face and personal?
New territory for me and at some point - it will be for you also.
Lonnie~
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