Comments on: Even the New York Times Ethicist (Randy Cohen) gets it…

By: Barbara

Barbara — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 22:47:49 +0000

Jen:

Thank you for your comment. I believe it is not only a parents’ job to teach “correctness” (in whatever form that may take based upon your family’s beliefs and ideals)but it is also the parents’ job to let them know that other adults see these tools as a quick and easy way to get salacious information about people in a very cowardly fashion. It reminds me of when I turned into a teenager and my mom told me that from that moment forward she would not be looking through my drawers or any other private spaces because she knew that there might be stuff there that would confuse or upset her. Far from being a coward, what she was actually saying to me was that she trusted our relationship was healthy enough that if I needed her, I could count on her being there.

Trust and honesty.. 2 things that seem to be missing far too often from our daily interactions, with or without MySpace or FaceBook!

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 22:02:54 +0000

I agree, it is hypocritical to question Wikipedia entries and then take MySpace entries as gospel. Nevertheless,kids must realize that some information is appropriate to launch into cyberspace and some information is better left unsaid. It all comes back to the old adage that if you want to keep a secret, tell no one.

Still, it is the parents’ job to teach morals and social correctness, and too many parents are shipping their kids off to school or the outside world expecting such institutions to teach these things to their children.It’s a cop-out and there is no excuse for it.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 22:34:58 +0000

So Sam, if you did have something up there that you later found out prevented you from being selected by a college you might have wanted to attend, how would you respond? Should they have been looking there? Should they have talked with you about it? You case is an exceptional one, I think, because you do have such a presence on the web, and you are quite careful. But even still, what would you have wanted that college interviewer to have said to you in that situation?

By: Sam Jackson

Sam Jackson — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 07:30:26 +0000

I always assumed that my online presence was submerged beneath Samuel L Jackson stuff. But, google my name today, and my own site is the 4th result for ‘sam jackson.’ Not bad, I suppose. Reminded me to be careful with what I write, especially given my audience of so many college admissions people.

I like to think that I’m also doing good by having my own site up there in the results, as it would suppress anything bad that did show up or, failing that, would provide an easy to find legitimate page.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 14:34:33 +0000

I am rather fond of the wimple look actually, and am thinking of adopting it as my own…

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 13:50:51 +0000

Oh, how disappointing. I was just going to remark how dashing you look in that brown hat.

I completely agree, we shouldn’t be looking, but let’s establish that there’s a difference between having “icky things rumbling around in [one's] closet” and choosing to publish those icky things online for the world to see. Schools should focus on teaching the appropriateness of publishing certain information online (instead of just issuing blanket statements telling students not to do it). But … when? Does it start in elementary school? By middle school, many kids are already starting to establish an online profile. And who? Is that the responsibility of individual classroom teachers (in their copious free time), librarians (sometimes called media specialists), or someone else?