Newer generations and the internet.

[a completely inoffensive name]

Lol the internet has nothing to do with it. Other kids at school will do the trick.

You are telling me that 10 year olds are going to be watching BangBros on smart phones during recess?

[a completely inoffensive name]

Maybe not, but South Park, YouTube, and games like GTA V, sure. I've seen it. Date an older chick with kids and you'll see. Frightening shit.

That's why I am saying that parents shouldn't give them smart phones in the first place.

Also, it's disingenuous to claim that attempts to parent your child are futile because of the dreaded "other kids". There are always "other kids" and the degree to which they effect your child depends on your parenting to begin with.

[a completely inoffensive name]

I'm saying no matter how hard you try, you'll either treat them like adults or you'll lose their attention to thing or people that do. Kids are smart, shelter and patronize them at your own risk.

No one is asking to patronize them. All I am saying is to have common sense and treat them their age, nothing more. Asking to treat a 10 year old as an 18 year old is the radical position in my opinion.

[a completely inoffensive name]

Worked for my mom.

Yes, but you are smarter than most, since you are here. Other people are not as smart, hence they are not here. Commence the circlejerk.

[HoreTore]

You are telling me that 10 year olds are going to be watching BangBros on smart phones during recess?

Actually, yeah.

[Montmorency]

Why is everyone talking about sex and porn again?

There are videos of actual murders on the Internet. This should be required viewing for most any 10-year-old.

Treating children like adults will only bring about a society that knows nothing about the concept of innocence, which only spells disaster for our collective concepts of morality and social health.

How do you know?

[Rhyfelwyr]

Maybe not, but South Park, YouTube, and games like GTA V, sure. I've seen it. Date an older chick with kids and you'll see. Frightening shit.

I'm not worried about kids seeing stuff like GTA or South Park, I played/watched them myself while still in primary school. I'm talking about the really messed up that only exists on the internet. And I don't mean exclusively porn stuff either, indeed I already said some of the worst stuff is the sick torture and murder fantasies that are pasted across even mainstream boards.

Heck, I don't like anything that gives a distorted view of the world. I'm not trolling or being ridiculous here, but watching the news the other night, I noticed that the majority of stories were about the various types of people abusing children (priests, celebrities, etc). And I thought to myself that this presented such a horrific and distorted vision of the world, that I would rather have kids play GTA than watch this. I don't mind shoot-em-ups and that sort of thing, but some things are just really messed up and depressing.

My problem with HoreTore etc is this - you say you want kids to have a healthy view of the world and to know how it works - and you think that modern media is a good medium to achieve this! As if the internet is somehow an accurate reflection of normal social interaction.

You are telling me that 10 year olds are going to be watching BangBros on smart phones during recess?

Actually, yeah.

I don't doubt is happens but I suspect most kids avoid it, I certainly did.

[Fragony]

And some don't, porn isn't very classy, normal people keep it under the sheets. But there is nothing wrong with it, we kinda have a fundamentally different way of looking at things here. Don't hurt me if I go wrong here, abstaining from sex seems to be mistaken for discipline for some, what does that say about someone. With finding the discipline to abstain from sex you cannot deny it is seen as a bad thing to have sex. It isn't, it's cute, it's harmless.

[a completely inoffensive name]

I guess I was the only kid to just drink my Capri Sun and play kickball everyday.

[Fragony]

I guess I was the only kid to just drink my Capri Sun and play kickball everyday.

More than enough time, you aren't supposed te be adult untill you are 50.

[Rhyfelwyr]

I guess I was the only kid to just drink my Capri Sun and play kickball everyday.

Nah, I was the same. But I'll admit I did like smuggling a Game Boy into school so I could run over as many civilians as possible in GTA.

Still, I find the way some people talk about school here to be pretty hilarious, you would think it's 50% red light district and 50% gangsta's paradise.

[HoreTore]

My problem with HoreTore etc is this - you say you want kids to have a healthy view of the world and to know how it works - and you think that modern media is a good medium to achieve this! As if the internet is somehow an accurate reflection of normal social interaction.

Where on earth did I say I believe modern media should be responsible for sexual education....?

I wholeheartedly agree with GC on this - sexual education is the parents responsibility. It's part of the parenting job.

And in today's world, that means this parenting has to take account of the fact that kids look at nude stuff on the internet. Pretending it doesn't happen and trying to brainwash kids with the sinhammer is only going to screw the kids up.

It's like telling them not to touch their nono's. They're going to do it, and if you play the sin-card and make them ashamed you'll only end up screwing them up.

[HoreTore]

Nah, I was the same. But I'll admit I did like smuggling a Game Boy into school so I could run over as many civilians as possible in GTA.

Still, I find the way some people talk about school here to be pretty hilarious, you would think it's 50% red light district and 50% gangsta's paradise.

To be fair, the average 14-year old isn't that bright. A naughty google image search is as far as many of them get.

Still, I've had students who have made extremely detailed powerpoint presentations on various approaches to masturbation, with a guide of appropriate objects to use. She was 13 at the time. And she's a quite normal kid.

[AntiDamascus]

To be fair, the average 14-year old isn't that bright. A naughty google image search is as far as many of them get.

Still, I've had students who have made extremely detailed powerpoint presentations on various approaches to masturbation, with a guide of appropriate objects to use. She was 13 at the time. And she's a quite normal kid.

Wait what? This was a project for school?

[HoreTore]

Wait what? This was a project for school?

It was her take on "transition from child to adult", a topic which is about career choices and added responsibilities.

[Fragony]

It was her take on "transition from child to adult", a topic which is about career choices and added responsibilities.

You failed in responsibility then, you should have stopped her from doing that for her own sake. Can haunt her for years and school is a cruel place.

[HoreTore]

You failed in responsibility then, you should have stopped her from doing that for her own sake. Can haunt her for years and school is a cruel place.

First of all, it wasn't in my class(it was in Norwegian class). Secondly, it was something she was "inspired" to do on her own time. It's rather hard to control what students do at home. Thirdly, she already has high status and this thing certainly didn't lower that status(remember that status in this age group is heavily linked to acting above your age).

[Fragony]

First of all, it wasn't in my class(it was in Norwegian class). Secondly, it was something she was "inspired" to do on her own time. It's rather hard to iih that status in this age group is heavily linked to acting above your age).

I trust your judgement but not her's, what carreer-choice was it supposed to be. Question, do you know the poem 'Not waving but drowning', being totally misunderstood until it's too late. Can you be sure she isn't kinda troubled and reaching for a hand?

[caravel]

Some of the biggest dangers on the WWW (as opposed to the internet) do not just come in the form of pr0n, violent videos or extremist websites.

The omnipresent "Social Networking" is the bigger, more pressing problem facing today's child/teenager. That's where kids see "what everyone else is doing" and either wants to emulate that, or get depressed when they cannot. It's where young and impressionable people get manipulated, bullied and controlled by other more devious characters. Kids should be able to get home and leave school behind - unless it's homework. This is the time when they should interact with and bond with their families and siblings. Instead, they are enslaved to a screen, learning nothing useful, not reading, playing or being entertained, but instead reading banal chit chat and bullshit about what other people, including celebrities, are supposedly doing.

Years ago there were forums, like this one, or bulletin boards and for the most part people remained anonymous - to protect themselves from the local nut jobs and because it just seemed "wise" or "common sense"... Remaining anonymous made a lot of sense from a security and privacy perspective. In the "facebook age" we have people who expose their true identity, their circle of friends, their photos and even their employment history - freely - online for all and sundry to peruse - because "everyone's doing it". But also on these sites we have people who keep their real identity a secret and operate under a pseudonym - so like a forum, you have the anonymous users - unlike a forum you also have real people with real photos and their relationships with other real people. For kids, navigating this minefield, separating fiction from reality is almost impossible. Just as pr0n is deceiving kids about what sex is all about, Social Networking is giving them a warped idea of life in general.

For most kids there's not much choice other than to be on one of these sites - most likely facebook - or be an outcast. 80's an 90's parents had to worry about about whether to send their kids to the party "everyone else is going to", today's parents have a bigger problem - and it doesn't involve setting one foot outside. If all parents said "NO" - problem solved...

The smartphone has compounded this issue and safety worries, "pester power" and peer pressure has meant that kids under 10 are running around with these things - unrestricted and uncensored - mainly because the older generation are less technically savvy than the next and because computers in general have become so dumbed down and automated that many people are just trusting the "defaults". When it turns out that their kid was being bullied or watching pr0n, they will blame the service provider, the handset manufacturer or the OS vendor, but never themselves of course.

[spankythehippo]

Some of the biggest dangers on the WWW (as opposed to the internet) do not just come in the form of pr0n, violent videos or extremist websites.

The omnipresent "Social Networking" is the bigger, more pressing problem facing today's child/teenager. That's where kids see "what everyone else is doing" and either wants to emulate that, or get depressed when they cannot. It's where young and impressionable people get manipulated, bullied and controlled by other more devious characters. Kids should be able to get home and leave school behind - unless it's homework. This is the time when they should interact with and bond with their families and siblings. Instead, they are enslaved to a screen, learning nothing useful, not reading, playing or being entertained, but instead reading banal chit chat and bullshit about what other people, including celebrities, are supposedly doing.

Years ago there were forums, like this one, or bulletin boards and for the most part people remained anonymous - to protect themselves from the local nut jobs and because it just seemed "wise" or "common sense"... Remaining anonymous made a lot of sense from a security and privacy perspective. In the "facebook age" we have people who expose their true identity, their circle of friends, their photos and even their employment history - freely - online for all and sundry to peruse - because "everyone's doing it". But also on these sites we have people who keep their real identity a secret and operate under a pseudonym - so like a forum, you have the anonymous users - unlike a forum you also have real people with real photos and their relationships with other real people. For kids, navigating this minefield, separating fiction from reality is almost impossible. Just as pr0n is deceiving kids about what sex is all about, Social Networking is giving them a warped idea of life in general.

For most kids there's not much choice other than to be on one of these sites - most likely facebook - or be an outcast. 80's an 90's parents had to worry about about whether to send their kids to the party "everyone else is going to", today's parents have a bigger problem - and it doesn't involve setting one foot outside. If all parents said "NO" - problem solved...

The smartphone has compounded this issue and safety worries, "pester power" and peer pressure has meant that kids under 10 are running around with these things - unrestricted and uncensored - mainly because the older generation are less technically savvy than the next and because computers in general have become so dumbed down and automated that many people are just trusting the "defaults". When it turns out that their kid was being bullied or watching pr0n, they will blame the service provider, the handset manufacturer or the OS vendor, but never themselves of course.

The whole Social Networking thing can be easily thwarted. Kids aren't smart. They always leave telltale signs of their shenanigans. A simple google/facebook search might be enough to find them. Kids that use social networking tend to be extroverts. They won't leave their profile hidden. If you are a parent that has facebook, add (force) them as a friend. Then watch all their friends say how lame your kid is.

Kidding aside, if you truly want your kids to stop being reliant on technology at an early age, then you need to restrict all technology access, and reward them for good behaviour. Buy them something (not something too luxurious) when they get good marks in school. Kids are animals, treat it right, it will what the boundaries are. Treat it wrong (give them what they want, whenever they want), they become sated miscreants when they grow up. Ungrateful bastards who will cling to their parents wallet like dried Weet-Bix to a cereal bowl (and that shit is hard to get off). Without discipline, kids move in any direction they desire. More often than not, the direction they move towards is ultimately destined for some kind of ruin, be it mental or financial. But too much discipline will unhinge them. They will see how easy their friends live their lives, with their brand new iPhones and become bitter people. They will hate you, as a parent, and everyone around them, since they have so much more than them.

When it turns out that their kid was being bullied or watching pr0n, they will blame the service provider, the handset manufacturer or the OS vendor, but never themselves of course.

Tee hee hee. I did that. The porn, I mean. I was very devious and careful with my porn watching habits as a kid. In a way, I was practicing my planning skills. Some would say I was very extreme in my planning. Almost on the level of the Home Alone movies. Most other kids always had the getting caught story. I was never caught.

[drone]

Tee hee hee. I did that. The porn, I mean. I was very devious and careful with my porn watching habits as a kid. In a way, I was practicing my planning skills. Some would say I was very extreme in my planning. Almost on the level of the Home Alone movies. Most other kids always had the getting caught story. I was never caught.

Your father either didn't read his router logs, or you both had the same taste.

[Sp4]

Wait what? This was a project for school?

I had this sort of stuff in school too, when I was 12 or 13. I was under the impression mostly anyone did, for the longest time.

[Fragony]

I had this sort of stuff in school too, when I was 12 or 13. I was under the impression mostly anyone did, for the longest time.

A presentation of a 13 year old about masturbation tools? Doubt it. I am not even against it really mind you

[caravel]

The whole Social Networking thing can be easily thwarted. Kids aren't smart.

Tee hee hee. I did that. The porn, I mean. I was very devious and careful with my porn watching habits as a kid.

A small contradiction there... Kids are smart, often smarter than their parents when it comes to computing. Leaving traces is not restricted to kids, accidentally leaving history or not deleting certain files has probably exposed many an adult's pr0n habits or even affairs, etc.

Kids that use social networking tend to be extroverts.

I have to disagree with this. Introverts who are not comfortable with face to face socialising would find social networks much more comfortable.

I don't think the issue is really kids using social networking covertly, though that is also a problem, it's kids who feel obliged to sign up to these sites due to peer pressure, get hooked in at an early age and then find it almost impossible to quit. In fact unless their parents deny them access to every device and watch them 24/7 they probably won't... this is a new problem, a product of the last decade or so, we don't really know the effects yet and won't for at least another decade.

Just as someone would not want their kid hooked on alcohol or tobacco at an early age, they would surely not want them chained to a compulsive website which has absolutely no benefit whatsoever? A website which even has adults reaching for their phones first thing in the morning or as soon as they board a train - to ensure they're not missing out on something. A website which is not really entertainment, is not educational, is not really social - it's about feeding primitive urges, urges to know what someone else is doing, urges to be involved or be part of a group, urges to be wanted, appreciated and heeded. Sitting at home alone pressing buttons on a phone is no more social than sitting at home alone playing a game online. Going out with friends to social events where people can interact directly is a social thing, "social" networking is not, in spite of what those selling it to the masses may claim.

The problem is that in many cases the parents are directly or indirectly encouraging this. In many cases the parents have accounts themselves, which does not put them in a very strong position when trying to preach to their children that they on the other hand can not participate. If a parent is already hooked into social networking, they will only perceive a small percentage of the dangers - e.g. being exposed to malicious people or unsuitable content - the other complex social and psychological aspects will likely go over their heads. They will not consider that their child (and in fact they themselves) is not much different to a child "addicted" to gaming - I would say worse off, but that's clearly open to debate.

[HoreTore]

I need to comment on one issue here:

A website "which has absolutely no benefit whatsoever"...? Social media? Human interaction isn't a benefit...?

[caravel]

I should have been more specific - I don't believe online social networking sites are at all beneficial to children/teenagers. I'm not so sure it's beneficial to adults either. There are many other means of achieving the same end, both conventional and otherwise.

One of my main points is that, at some point the interaction should stop - people, especially kids, should not be reachable 24/7 and bombarded with what their 2000 friends are having for dinner, who shagged who, or what music they're listening to every minute of the day.

I see something like video chat as useful. Families overseas and people working away from home can keep in touch with relatives, classic social media however is just a text based medium, which is mostly made up of comments, one liner text chatter, people clicking on like buttons, "following" some celebrity or sharing photos. It's not really a social thing - in the sense that a group of people come together, talk, make eye contact and none of them can pretend to be something they're not - I'm not sure it's meaningful human interaction - but it probably presses the right buttons in the brain. A forum, where the overwhelming majority of members are anonymous, there are a staff who oversee it and ensure that it doesn't turn into an idiot-fest and it allows for debates like this one, exchange of ideas and for those with common interests to come together.

[Strike For The South]

Yes, 10 year olds should see everything on the internet. I come here every day and read these terrible opinions. My only solace is knowing that many of you will be shuffled into IT work were you can't harm or influence actual people. I am grateful for that.

The internet is terrible for kids. It makes them socially retarded introverts with giant Egos

Source: me

[caravel]

I've been safely "shuffled into IT" for several years so you and the world can rest easy...

For what it's worth I'm not pro censorship, quite the opposite, I simply think that children on unsupervised social networking, chat rooms, etc is as big a problem as pr0n, extremists, suicide sites, etc. It's for parents to take responsibility for this, but sadly people are getting more and more dependent on the state to police the web for them - in fact many parents demand this instead of taking responsibility for their children's actions, behaviour and whereabouts. The state (to use a general term) are of course happy with this turn of events - thus the current trend of censorship/surveillance, etc...

You would not let a child go and play a mile away in a park after dark with strangers, why would you leave them completely unsupervised with unfettered internet access...?

[Papewaio]

Well that is the best filter: supervision.

Apart from that whilst video calls are great I live in different timezones to family and friends so social media allows me to keep tabs on the overall pulse.

I too am in IT so I don't influence people either :)

[Fragony]

This is just silly http://ktla.com/2013/09/27/teacher-u...#axzz2gBIYLgEz

I love you Americans I really do, can you please rid your place of idiots.

And improve your sports-programs are that supposed to be biceps. Where.