Teacher-Librarian

Wired News: Teens Online: Not a Freak Zone

“Media always portray new technology in alarmist, ‘the world ends tomorrow’ fashion,” she says. “You get the sense that MySpace is an online sexual orgy where adults and kids sleep together in some kind of culty illicit community. That’s really not what’s going on.” L. Kris Gowan

Great article by Regina Lynn about Myspace, teen sex and Internet Safety.  Largely focuses on a program from Portland State University headed by L. Kris Gowen called the Virtual Mystery Tour: your guide to teens, sex and the Internet.  The tour itself is not virtual, but they do presentations. 

Our district uses iSafe.  Librarians and teachers can volunteer for district sponsored training from iSafe, then we have access to all of their curriculum.  An up to date thorough service.  Has a whole program for parents too.

More significant quotes from the article:

“My goal is to get parents to ask more informed questions so they can have a dialogue with their kid without feeling like they’re at a quantum physics lecture,” she says. “I want them to be able to ask intelligent questions, to know the lingo, not just ‘what’s that MySpace thing?’”

A recent conversation with a friend (nice, conservative family) about their daughter and Myspace.  They visit their daughters Myspace and get to know the conversation, friends, what they’re talking about, the ‘lingo’ and wow what an insight to what teens are thinking.  They also have groundrules. 

Treating the internet as merely another part of “the media” makes no sense, especially around sex. Other media can offer sexual content; the internet, even more than the telephone, offers sexual interaction — with peers, with educators, with performers and, unfortunately, with creeps, too. The internet is a medium. It’s not the media.

I added the last line to my favorite quotes: “The Internet is a medium.  It’s not the media.”

 I had already planned on upping my focus on Internet Safety this year at school.  This reinforces that idea, and adding the parent training as well.  I tried a parent training at a PTA meeting, but it was not well attended.  Will need to start earlier and advertise more.  Parents need to know.  Some parents aren’t worried at all, while others are the uninformed alarmists. I do love working with parents though…