Do you know who's really behind the screen? (cont'd)

According to the blog, Divorce within the family: "The Second Life", Paige starts off stating how the internet is such important factor in our social lives right now. Especially since we had limited communication with others before the internet was brought into our lives. It is now used for dating, making new friends, school work and according to Anderson's "The Long Tail", it is also a place to go shopping instead of going to a BEST BUY. The statements made in her blog are absolutely true. The internet is such a reliable source that it is a true addiction for many people, and it can sometimes be such a horrifying place to encounter your worst nightmares!

Like I've mentioned before, Facebook and Myspace are highly popular and it's THEE networking place for almost all college students and for all those who want to have a social life with the world. One good thing about these sites is that you can confirm who you want to be friends with because you can see who is actually requesting you. If the person is unfamiliar, you easily deny them. In "The Second Life", another way of communication was provided, it wasn't Myspace or Facebook, it was actually the oldest method of all, the infamous CHAT ROOMS. The couple in her article met on a chat room, moved across the country for this loved one, and married, eventually ending in a divorce. Main reason was because they weren;t who they seemed to be online, in person. The beauty of being in a chat room is, that you can use your imagination. You can be anything you want and have all the luxuries in the world by just creating a character.
No one could know if you're lying, nor see how you look like, how could they? It's all words behind a screen while other are either amazed or intrigued. Since this is possible in chat rooms, they are also very dangerous for the young ones that use the internet as a place to socialize.
Sex offenders use chat rooms highly in order to capture their next victim. They'll pose as a 12 year old girl for the 12 year old boy on the other end to make conversation. They'll be your friend when you are in need and want someone to cry to. They easily talk you into trusting them, by twisting words and saying exactly what you want to here, you eventually confide in them and begin telling your whole life story. According Chloe Albanesuis, these predators move through the relationship slowly before convincing them to meet, resulting into God knows what. Chat rooms are very dangerous for children that aren't supervised and usually, they are kids that have low self esteems and believe they aren't good for anything. It is reported that by PCMAG.com that Myspace has deleted 30, 000 prolfiles belonging to sex offenders and 5,585 offender profiles have been deleted from Facebook as well according to TECHLIME.com.
However, it is hard to say that any of these websites or chat rooms will ever be "predator" free, but we can continue to help catch them or talk more to our children making them more aware.



First image by Mikey G Owatta on Flickr.com
Second Image by Ben Lawson on Flickr.com
Third image by Waffle Friez on Flickr.com