ok, this might get lenghty...
First of all if these perverts didn't have internet then they'd just be going out into public and radomly selecting victims anyway... As much as it sucks we all have to come to terms with the fact that in society there is always going to be people like this, plane and simple. Personally I think if the encounter happens on the internet you are potentially a lot more safe then if you just happened to be walking down the wrong street at the wrong time. Yes sites like Myspace make it much more opportunistic for the pervert to meet a specific desired target. However it makes it a lot less likely that you are ever in imidiate danger assuming you choose to take advantage of the internet by gauging you're anonymity accordingly. You might aswell all stop driving your cars too because I am certain more ppl die in car related fatalities as opposed to myspace related fatalities... however just like anything else you can take certain precautions while driving that will greatly reduce the chance of becoming another news story. You want to drive like an idiot that is your choice and you must be prepared to accept the consciences of your actions. Much like you wanting to go posting personal information and inviting perfect strangers into your home. Tho it is in noway fair to apply this specific logic to a 14 year old girl that is still so Naive she still believes everything about life is and will always be absolutely wonderful. Although there are more then likely ppl present in a 14 year olds life that do know this logic. I really hate to say it but the danger is clearly present on the internet and in today's society the internet is to what valium was to the 60's. There probably really should be greater emphasis put on the education of young children and teens using the net. You shouldn't jump into anything before knowing the pros and cons. I mean you can't really expect ppl to avoid something because it could be potentially dangerous but you should be aware of the situation. So if there ain't nobody there to inform you how will you ever know untill its too late? SOMEBODY should be educating young children and teens about the dangers that lurk on the internet seeing as its such a big part of our society. There is certainly no shortage of ppl telling me the potential dangers of smoking cigarettes.
Truley tragic that things like this happen... but I don't really think its the forum in which it happens that should bear all the brunt, because it could happen anywhere. They put a man on the moon, I am pretty certain they can find a way to better educate ppl about this.
Unless of course the people who should be doing it are just as naive to think a 14 year old isn't toally oblivious to a lot of shit.
and most of our parents were never exposed to the internet growing up and if they were not nearly to the extent ppl are today, so if anyone wants to say the parents should be educating their children, ya I agree but I also say somebody should be educating the parents, and driving it home hard!!!
and on top of all that maybe putting all ppl on prozac once they hit the age of 13 because the whole teenage angst thing only suggests they ain't gonna listen anyway unless a camel smoking a cigarette were to tell them.
Tricky and Delicate situation... but that is a brief overview of my opinion on this.
