Scenario
"Jamie has persuaded her parents to let her talk to her
friends in an online chat room. Many of
the people in the chat room are Jamie’s friends, but there are some people she
does not know. For several days, she has
noticed on of these individuals talking to some of her friends. Now, this person is starting to ask Jamie
about herself and what she looks like.
Jamie becomes uncomfortable and logs off the chat room. Later that evening, she talks to her parents and
mentions the person in the chat room and how it made her feel" (Ribble, 2011, p.
93).
First and foremost I would like to commend Jamie on speaking
to her parents about her experience in the chat room. To her defense, Jamie is not using the online
chat room inappropriately; she is simply connecting with her friends. “Often issues arise from unforeseen and unintended
uses of the new technology” (Ribble, 2011, p. 32). Perhaps Jamie’s personality and profile
attracted the “internet creeper”. Instead
of letting Jamie enter into the chat room, it would have been ideal if the
parents understood how she could protect herself and raise awareness of digital
security and the possibility of interacting with online predators. Below is a video worth watching on how we can
protect our loved ones.
Ribble, Mike. (2011). Digital
Citizenship in Schools, 2nd Edition. International Society for Technology
in Education.
Jamie is being very responsible in this situation. We know that our children will be online and using chat rooms, and other forums where they may be exposed to other people that we or they do not know. The best thing we can teach them is that if they do not know the person, do not communicate with them.
ReplyDeleteShe should also be commended for telling her parents. Some children wouldn't for fear of not being allowed back on the site. If they feel something is not right, they need to tell an adult they trust. This demonstrates maturity and lets her parents be aware of the dangers so they can monitor the site as well so suspicious persons can be reported. The parents can also alert other parents to beware.
I agree with you completely! She is using the technology properly and being open and honest with her parents. They have certainly taught her well for appropriate use of the internet. The only thing I think she should do is maybe inform her friends of the possible dangers, and that she feels like the unknown people are raising a "red flag" with her. Also, maybe suggest another chat room forum, or even texting with eachother as she feels uncomfortable in the situation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jamie's decision on telling her parents about this potential online predator and her decision to leave the chatroom. The unfortunate thing about this scenario is that I feel that her parents have not taken the proper steps to educate their child on the dangers of an open forum. Open forums should not be accessible to young children because there is so much ambiguity around who they are actually speaking to. In addition I think that Jamie would have been better off with personalized messaging with friends if any at all. This same situation can occur on Facebook and Twitter if the proper verification is not taken to ensure the person they are is the person they are logged on as.
ReplyDelete