Little girls may not know what they're asking for here. And it scares the crap out of me.
Rule number one of the internet: Keep your private information private. That's it. I refuse to post my phone number, address, etc. online because the truth is, I get enough sick responses as is. Just last year I received a friend request from a name I didn't recognize. But--we had a serious amount of mutual friends. I dismissed it the first time but when he came back for more, I thought, maybe he's one of those people I met and totally forgot I met and I am now being an ass.
I asked my roommate, also friends with this dude, who he was. She thought maybe he was a kid she knew growing up. I accepted out of curiosity. Then I see all of our mutual friends are women, from Berklee College of Music. Not her hometown. I unfriend him.
Not 10 minutes later do I receive an email TO MY GMAIL account with a scaled photo of his manhood against a can of aerosol spray. Not sexy. Not funny. He tells me he gets pleasure from looking at my legs in my photos. Real class act, right? I block him on Facebook, I try to block him on Gmail (but it's damn hard to figure that out).
We immediately spread the news to all of his friended women on Facebook to block this sucker. He attempts to message my roommate as well, but lucky for her, no picture.
Again, little girls may not know what they're asking for here.
There are sickos who at the very least get a rise (pun intended) out of making you uncomfortable. Do not give them more reasons or methods of contacting you. It's a hard job being a parent. I'm not one, but I know this. Your kids can access these social media sites via the computer, a tablet, a cell phone, an iPod touch, a smart TV, etc. If you can't restrict your children or you don't care to, the least you can do is stress the importance of self-protection. Show them some horror stories if they think they are ready for the global social scene. I'm pretty sure they can barely handle gym class with all those little shorts they wear and the comments I've heard fly out of immature boys' mouths.
Inform your children please. It's not my job. But it will rest on my conscience because I AM aware.
Even more than the dangers of sickos, I see that young girls are searching the unknown depths of the social media world for friends. Desperate to connect to someone with these romantic ideas of what the internet can offer them, they are transparently vulnerable. I've seen posts such as:
"I don't have enough followers, please follow me."
"I want to go to ____ on Friday night, if you want to go, let me know."
"Here is my phone number."
"Look at my (this)."
The internet has become a safe haven for those who feel neglected, unaccepted or bullied, and that's great! But, we also need to remind this children that it's the love you find in your personal life that should be fulfilling. They are barely old enough to be depressed and they are already playing the victim for acceptance. This is not the way you want your children seeking fulfillment. The internet is also cold, unforgiving and you CANNOT erase anything once it's out there. This doesn't seem to stick with people.
Do your research. Inform your children. There is only so much we can do to protect the ones we love and this is an easy one.
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