Friday nights Dateline. Every parent should have seen and investigate

[dancemomof2]

Ok Friday night, Dateline had a a2 hour show on about predators and these kids using blog sites like myspace.com and xanga.com. It was nauseating that 50 0f the 51 guys caught were arrested.

Anyway, i went and checked these sights out since I have a 13 year old daughter. I was sickened, I knew her friends were doing Xanga and I had shut hers down pronto.........., I registered on myspace and I found 8 of her friends registered as 18-25 year old females in our area. i was outraged. I actually printed the one who said she is 25 and sending it to work with hubby to give to her dad tomarrow. She also has a xanga site with pictures of her 12 year old friends grabbing bath towels to cover up before a picture was taken and posted.

ALL PARENTS NEED TO CHECK THIS STUFF OU TIF YOU HAVE TEENS!!!

[dg2901]

My son uses the myspace, as does all of his friends. The reason they post certains ages is to get around the age-posting guidelines (i first heard the age was 18 then recently i heard 13 so who knows). Either way theres no way for the people who run the site to verify.
As far as predators go, anybody who uses the internet is at risk for being preyed on. The only sure-fire way to NOT put ourselves in harms way is to not use the internet at all. Its our job as parents to teach our kids, male or female, to use common sense when posting to these websites and online blogs. Its also the parents responsibility to check behind their kids, like you did, to insure that our kids are practicing safe internet usage (if there is such a thing).

While I didnt watch the Dateline episode I did know about it being broadcast. Hopefully it enlightened and educated parents about what their kids are doing so now they can check behind the kids to help insure their safety.

:)
d

[ihurttoo]

I watched it too. I had to leave the room to throw up. It got too me that bad! I was stunned that they caught that many in so little time. I wish they'd set up a sting in our town too. There's a website you can go to as well that has names, offenses, addresses, and pictures of sex offenders. I looked up my address about a month ago and was shocked to find 4 sex offenders living within 5 miles of me. And I live in the country where my closest neighbor is 1/2 mile away!! It sickened me. Everybody needs to know who's around them, especially if you are a parent. It opened my eyes!

[creatingkarma]

Omg!

[curlycue]

You ladies want to know what the scary part is that when I was watching they said it was in Riverside County that is were I live and then as I watch closer I recognized the area its right up my street? I was in shock and I called my mom husband brother cuz they all live around and they all said yep that is up the street?I thought that was scary and what is up with the Homeland Security guy? I thought you could trust these people, I guess just cuz they are in law enforcment does not mean you can trust them.

[ihurttoo]

Ruth, That is scary!! I dont know if I'd feel better (since now there off the street) or worse (cause there are so many and who knows how many more are out there!) But you know what, they are everywhere! It is a scary world we live in. I can't get over how brazen that one guy was who had been caught before and warned by Perverted Justice AND he saw someone else being arrested outside, and he STILL came in!! That just floored me!! And the whole cross-section of people, like last time, the rabbi, the teacher, the homeland security guy, the list is endless! And most of them looked so normal, I mean they could be anybody! Oh, by the way, there are transcripts of the show on Dateline NBC's website if any of you missed this show. It is a must read!

[patricia1]

I watched this. My 12 year old daughter has a xanga site. I montior what she post's and what her friends post to her and their sites also. I would only allow her first name and nothing else. She does not have a picture posted and neither did most of her friends. She also know I go to the site daily and check out what was written and what comments she has gotten and if I see anything I do not like it will be removed right away. I also made her watch the Dateline piece so she would know it was not me just being mom. It is sad some of these people put so much personal information on there that it is not funny. One friend of hers list her cell number.....I dont want to put an end to everything she does but she knows I do mont. it and the computer is my room, so hopefully that helps.

[tigger_gal]

OMG how horrible.... I would beat my kids ass if she did anything like that.... I am so glad she hates computers....
They really don't undestand that one wrong person could ruin or end there life.

where are there parents when they are doing this?????

[Kara Isabel]

Oh! I missed the show, and this thread! BUT I am a long time MOM against Blogging! I monitor my teens myspace's weekly! And I go check out their friends and what they are doing. I can't BELIEVE the stuff these kids will put on their websites. Insane!! Some of them even brag about drinking and driving, doing drugs.....sex, losing their virginity......what gives? They just put it ALL out there. And quite a few of them list their phone numbers, and register with a "legal" age!! I always tell parents of teens to go check myspace.

We own our own business, and I've even used myspace to "pre-screen" employees. In fact, I hired a 21 year old receptionist a few weeks back, and after she left the interview, I punched her name in myspace..........wallah! I knew just about everything about her in 10 minutes!! I encourage other Employers to do the same! I ended up hiring her.....wonder if I should tell her I checked out her blog after the interview?? lol....she'd probably be horrofied! But jeeze, the way I see it.......if you post information on the web, you can't *choose* who reads it or not.

What completely baffles me is how so many parents I've talked to have never even HEARD of blogging. wow. I hope this media attention sheds light on this problem and opens some eyes around the country.

Scary.

Kara

[curlycue]

Yes it very frighthening. In some ways I am sorry I seen it cuz it makes me nervous to see weird men and I am sure there is women as well.

[dancemomof2]

OK this kids is so ticked at me and blasted me on one of her sites, that her mom and I had a long talk about the dangers in this and she thanked me repeatedly for this info. I made sure the kid knew my own kid was busted and was not home at the time that I found all this out. The kid thinks us parents knwo way to much ( but then what 12-13 year old doesn't think they know it all). I did call the parent of the one with no clothes on and she and her child were upset abou this and made the other kid delete the pictures. We live in a town of less then 10,000 people with a max. security prison and have 44 registered sex offenders here because after the parole they can't afford to go very far and settle here. So these kids need to know the danger of this kind of infgo getting out to the world. If a mom with very little pc ability can find this info out the so can an offender wanting info. Thanks for listening to me blast off.

Curly, how scary toknwo this was in your town let alone in your neighborhood. I bet your whole town was in shock after this report.

[patricia1]

I guess we all cant be liked or loved by our kids friends. I would have done the exact same thing you did. Taylor knows I go to hers and to her friends and she knows if I dont like it, it will be deleted...Kids today are so much more advanced than I ever thought of being at this age. It is scary. But in order to protect them we have to do it and only hope we they grow up they will appreciate all that we have done.

[Kara Isabel]

Been there!!

I busted a boy in my son's boy scout troop! I had my ex-husband (who's the troop leader) notify this kid's parents because he was bragging about smoking pot on his myspace!! (this kid is 13!!) ugh! This was about a month ago, and I'm pretty sure he is still grounded. We have to look out for these kids, ya know?? You did the right thing telling her mom!

Take care!
Kara

[curlycue]

Oh my god I cant belive that is Crazy, my daughters have been in Girl Scouts for over 10 years and never had a problem. Thank God.

[dancemomof2]

I get madder every minute. The more kids sites I find lead me to 5-10 more kids sites which just keeping getting worse and worse. The heck of it is alot of there posts are being made at school............ I think I am on an impossible quest. The good thing is the couple girls my daughter is closest to have delted there sites or they are so mellow on them I don't worry. I guess this is a good way to find out kids real friends.

[patricia1]

Yep I do like you. And some I am totally disgusted with.