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Middle school principal: ban your kids from social networking sites

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Bob Cook, Apr 30, 2010.

  1. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    In case you as a parent aren't concerned enough, here's another site your kids are on, and you don't even know it:

    www.formspring.me


    I was on my 16 y/o daughter's laptop, and in the pulldown menu, saw the irls for five of her friends. My daughter did not have one.

    Its where the person has a site, and anonymous people ask them questions. The person then answers. Of course, most of the "questions" are disgusting.

    "I bet you have the tightest little vagina and I want to f*** you"

    "You and your friends are the biggest bitches around."

    real good times.
     
  2. Herbert Anchovy

    Herbert Anchovy Active Member

    Oh, that's just marvelous.

    Never even heard of that site.
     
  3. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    I didn't mean to confuse "free speech" as a constitutional issue in this case. Forms of communications are generally not good or bad in themselves, and I would normally not call for a blanket ban on anything (except for donkey porn, when it's not of an artistic level).

    I am total agreement with the principal. The problem of the damage kids can cause on social networking is magnified because most parents have no clue what goes on there. Check that -- they have no clue about the concept of social networking sites themselves. It drives me batty when parents seem willfully ignorant of technology, because that throws open the door for kids to do all sorts of crazy shit because the parents have no concept of how to begin checking it out.

    As for Formspring, it was a site started by a guy who used to be a tech support fellow (I know I'm downgrading his actual title big-time) for the Indianapolis Star. He just got his first big venture money and moved the company to San Francisco.

    It seems like the site would have some great customer service applications -- basically, instead of an FAQ, people could ask an individual question without having to go through a bunch of phone trees. But, yeah, it's been hijacked pretty early by teens who ask nasty-ass questions. Formspring became particularly infamous because it was the social networking site at the center of the harassment of Alexis Pilkington, the high school athlete on Long Island who recently committed suicide.
     
  4. Armchair_QB

    Armchair_QB Well-Known Member

    What's wrong with Donkey Porn?
     
  5. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

    It is?
     
  6. Yep.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 1, 2015
  7. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

  8. Last edited by a moderator: Jan 1, 2015
  9. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 1, 2015
  10. Credited. But what I'm saying is that parents can get distracted by a relatively miniscule threat, a bogeyman that seems tangible to them, while completely missing something like online bullying that is far more harmful because it is more prevalent
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 1, 2015
  11. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

    Fair enough, and you may be right on that. I have no idea. Just saying that I wouldn't base my parenting decisions on a few statistics that may or may not be accurate.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 1, 2015
  12. It's not just this one article. There are plenty of studies and stories out there debunking the myth of the ever-lurking 45-year-old Internet perv.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 1, 2015
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