Is online social networking becoming a problem?

A few years ago, the problem was people stalking children over the internet when they went into chatrooms, but now that chatrooms are apparently more secure, there is a new craze which personally, i think is worse, social networking websites such as MySpace have millions of members, i am concerned about the percentage of paedophiles that could easily access this website and just as easily befriend people, it makes me sick, these sites are easy to sign up for, but you may find yourself becoming vulnerable. I know the parent of the child should behold responsibility for the use of the internet by the child, but are we supposed to wrap our children up in cotton wool?








I would appreciate any views

Is online social networking becoming a problem?
I have 4 children,ages 7 through 16,and I keep both of our computers in 'public' areas of our home,so I can check what they are doing.I have taught them common sense when it comes to strangers,and hope they make good choices.That is really all you can do with teens.





Having said that,I would enjoy castrating all paedophiles.
Reply:No. You just teach them not to be stupid and not to post personal information on the internet, and not to go meet with strangers they met over the internet.





Pedophiles found victims plenty easily enough without the internet. Common sense erradicates most reason for caution. Instill that in your children, and monitor them when they're young.





Frankly, the problem today is that the media makes a big deal out of every bad thing that ever happens. Millions of people have myspace profiles. The vast majority are neither victims nor predators. Today's media simply makes it seem like the big evil is lurking around the corner, and everyone grows paranoid and overreacts.





A few years before chatrooms, the problem was the park, or the mall, or the beach. There's /always/ been a problem. Right now, the media is focusing on social networking. Actually, social networking has made it easier to catch the pedophiles - as sting operations are much simpler to set up online, where the predator can't see that the 'victim' is actually a police officer posting photos of a teenager, and not a teenager itself.





Hence, more are being caught than ever before. This doesn't mean that they're more dangerous than before, or that there are more /of/ them that before. It simply means that we're catching them easier.
Reply:Wrapping your child in cotton wool doesn't teach them how to stay safe. You need to actually sit with them and teach them. There are plenty of sites that promote child safety. Visit them with your kids. Once you explain to kids why there are rules - to keep you safe - they get it.





Websites don't give paedos access to children. Children giving out their personal details and arranging a meet would give them access; but it seems less risky to me than playing in the park. The internet is not face to face.


The internet is used by all sorts of nasty individuals. Thieves, liars, stalkers, people who want something from you.


If you don't like a site then don't use it! Its legal, its not a hardcore porn site, and its daft to ban it just because a percentage misuse it.


We wouldn't do anything if we let people like that dictate out lives to us.