Growing up in the dawning age of the Internet, my parents were incredibly overprotective and convinced
99% of it was porn and predators. We had AOL with strict parental restrictions in place and were limited to only spending an hour or two, MAYBE if homework required it. It’s a little ironic since my job now keeps me online for about twelve hours a day but that’s neither here nor there, the point is my parents were very involved with my internet usage.
Now enter the sad story of Jessi Slaughter.
Jessi Slaughter (not her real name) is an eleven year old girl who has an internet presence through video blogging. She was then linked to some goofy band dude with an equally ridiculous name, Dahvie Vanity, on Stickydrama, a tabloid site aimed at tweens. Jessi responded with some ridiculous internet jargon and acronyms about how there’s nothing going on with her and Dahvie and then some one commented saying she was ugly and then Jessi posted a not so safe for work video response riddled with curse words and threats of "glocks".
[panting] Man, I feel like I’m back in the high school locker room!
BUT! THE SAGA CONTINUES!
After Jessi responded to her haters, her haters then used 4Chan, an internet hive of all sorts with message boards for images and information, to post all her personal information such as her address, phone number and internet accounts. And now, along with prank phone calls and random pizza delivers, there also have been Craig’s List call girls at the front door. Basically, a parent’s worst nightmare.
This is when her parents decide to step in & as a family, post a video which showcases Jessi bawling her eyes out, claiming she can’t eat or sleep and her father screaming a myriad of ridiculous things that instead of intimidating the Internet just made them all LOL and make matters a hundred times worse.
In the video, which has been removed after it was made an internet mockery, the father blames the internet for bullying her daughter. But is the internet really the problem?
No.
As a blogger, I know first hand how god awful commenters can be on the web but as an adult, I feel the real blame is on the parents. Threatening to turn mean commenters in to the police is not an effective way to keep your kids safe on the internet, Mr. ‘Slaughter’. Keep your kids safe on the internet by being a good parent. Your kid probably wouldn’t be involved in a rumored underage sex scandal if you had maybe knocked on the door once or twice while she was cursing like a sailor and generally actin’ a fool all over her web cam.
Here are some quick tips to keep your children safe:
1. Set up time limits and parental blocks on websites.
2. Talk to your children about the internet and not just the dangers of it or keeping private information off of it, but also what they enjoy about it. You’d be surprised at how many hilarious YouTubes there are of pets.
3. Encourage your child to do more than sit inside on the computer in their free time and set a good example by getting out of the house yourself.
4. Let your kids know what’s out there. Although, yes, there is a lot of porn and predators on the internet, it is mostly just faceless unhappy people looking for commenting prey.
5. Keep your computers in common areas of the home, such as an office area so you can pay attention to how your child is using the internet.
Photo: CC Flickr//KathleenLeavitt
I agree. We have the responsibility to make sure our kids are safe. At least until they are on their own. Even then I'll still be protective to some extent. My daughter is 17 and I still limit her time on line, otherwise she'd be in my bedroom all night and I'd never get any sleep.8-o. Being able to communicate with our kids is a big help, too.
Great article! Another one of those thank-god-I-don't-have-kids-yet news stories.
this is an interesting debate because basically this wouldn't have even been a topic of conversation 10 or 15 years ago. it is about access to tools that are very expansive that should not be in certian hands that do not understand the far reaching and long term implications. we all can learn a lesson about our internet footprint. i agree about parental involvement, but some just aren't eeven tech savy enough to know what is going on and herein lies the issue as well.
good viewpoint.
I totally agree that Parents aren't looking after their kids anymore, T.V, internet, and yes even the schools lack of discipline is the reason our country is going so bad. no body cares whether these kids successes or fail. but I know one thing I'm going to have real expectation for my kids but I'm settling for less then I know they can be.
After Jessi responded to her haters, her haters then used 4Chan, an internet hive of all sorts with message boards for images and information, to post all her personal information such as her address, phone number and internet accounts. And now, along with prank phone calls and random pizza delivers, there also have been Craig's List call girls at the front door. Basically, a parent's worst nightmare.
This is when her parents decide to step in & as a family, post a video which showcases Jessi bawling her eyes out, claiming she can't eat or sleep and her father screaming a myriad of ridiculous things that instead of intimidating the Internet just made them all LOL and make matters a hundred times worse.
In the video, which has been removed after it was made an internet mockery, the father blames the internet for bullying her daughter. But is the internet really the problem?
http://www.edhardysall.com/