Openness, privacy, security
I had lunch with a friend recently who has a daughter in high school. She happened upon her daughter's My Space page and found a "friend" (from the same high school) who was smoking pot and drinking (alcohol) in posted photos. My friend then mentioned her surprise that one of her friends had uploaded photos to a public domain and included full names of her and the group who were in the photos. Although I could understand her shock over a kid with pot in a photo, I was honestly confused about all the fuss with the group photo being tagged with full names. My friend explained that the names can be used in a scam, especially directed at unsuspecting children.
We're in an interesting era. The younger generations grew up with the internet. It's as natural as breathing air through their lungs. They are also extremely open about their lives. Facebook, My Space is their way of expressing themselves, it's their way of sharing with their friends. A lot of us also do My Space, Facebook, but these younger generations share more - address, mobile phone numbers, birthdays, etc.
What of privacy and security, says the older generations? Just like other eras, it's parents' responsibilities to stay in touch with their children, to understand and to guide them. This will prove challenging for those parents who aren't computer literate. But we must move forward. Parents must learn along with their children.
We're in an interesting era. The younger generations grew up with the internet. It's as natural as breathing air through their lungs. They are also extremely open about their lives. Facebook, My Space is their way of expressing themselves, it's their way of sharing with their friends. A lot of us also do My Space, Facebook, but these younger generations share more - address, mobile phone numbers, birthdays, etc.
What of privacy and security, says the older generations? Just like other eras, it's parents' responsibilities to stay in touch with their children, to understand and to guide them. This will prove challenging for those parents who aren't computer literate. But we must move forward. Parents must learn along with their children.
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