2008 Woodie Awards
Officer's safety speech borders on harassment
Andy Harper
Issue date: 8/28/08 Section: Opinions
Personal networking sites like Facebook and MySpace can be dangerous, especially for minors.
This isn't a revolutionary concept - harassment, stalking, cyber bullying. Anyone who uses these sites is well aware of the consequences of irresponsible cyber surfing.
The ones in the worst positions are the underage users. Personally, anyone under the age of 16 who wants to operate on these sites should do so under the strict supervision of an adult.
With supervision of an adult, maybe incidents like Megan Meier - the 13-year-old who hanged herself after St. Louis native Lori Drew and her daughter ruthlessly harassed Meier, allegedly resulting in her suicide - wouldn't happen.
Despite the fact that Drew has not been found guilty of the charges brought against her, she is undoubtedly guilty in the public eye and has been sentenced to live out the remainder of her wretched existence as a social pariah.
So to battle injustices like the one suffered by the Meier family, it makes perfect sense to target minors for social site security training. Across the country - both physically and digitally - seminars, speeches and lectures are being held about how to have fun on the Internet and maintain a strong level of safety.
These informational courses are absolutely necessary, but bweing called a "slut" in front of your entire high school seems a little extreme - too bad for about six or seven students at Windsor High School in Windsor, Colo.
During a student body lecture about Web security and safety, John F. Gay III, a Wyoming police officer, displayed students' MySpace pages, photos and comments, causing one student to leave the seminar crying.
"'He told the entire student body that he had shared her info with a sexual predator in prison,' said Ty Nordic, whose daughter Shaylah Nordic's MySpace page was put on display," reported Fort Collins Coloradoan.
"Shaylah Nordic said Gay told the student body that the predator said he would masterbate to her picture and then 'tear her apart.'"
This isn't a revolutionary concept - harassment, stalking, cyber bullying. Anyone who uses these sites is well aware of the consequences of irresponsible cyber surfing.
The ones in the worst positions are the underage users. Personally, anyone under the age of 16 who wants to operate on these sites should do so under the strict supervision of an adult.
With supervision of an adult, maybe incidents like Megan Meier - the 13-year-old who hanged herself after St. Louis native Lori Drew and her daughter ruthlessly harassed Meier, allegedly resulting in her suicide - wouldn't happen.
Despite the fact that Drew has not been found guilty of the charges brought against her, she is undoubtedly guilty in the public eye and has been sentenced to live out the remainder of her wretched existence as a social pariah.
So to battle injustices like the one suffered by the Meier family, it makes perfect sense to target minors for social site security training. Across the country - both physically and digitally - seminars, speeches and lectures are being held about how to have fun on the Internet and maintain a strong level of safety.
These informational courses are absolutely necessary, but bweing called a "slut" in front of your entire high school seems a little extreme - too bad for about six or seven students at Windsor High School in Windsor, Colo.
During a student body lecture about Web security and safety, John F. Gay III, a Wyoming police officer, displayed students' MySpace pages, photos and comments, causing one student to leave the seminar crying.
"'He told the entire student body that he had shared her info with a sexual predator in prison,' said Ty Nordic, whose daughter Shaylah Nordic's MySpace page was put on display," reported Fort Collins Coloradoan.
"Shaylah Nordic said Gay told the student body that the predator said he would masterbate to her picture and then 'tear her apart.'"
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Harry Lovelace
posted 8/29/08 @ 9:54 AM CST
This really is upsetting that an adult, or worse, an officer of the law, would exploit these students in such a way that can drive a person to do outragious things. (Continued…)
dl
posted 9/01/08 @ 11:05 PM CST
I remember a presentation in High School about underage drinking and driving. My class in particular was targeted, as we had a fellow student die when he failed to make a turn and drove into a tree after drinking when we were only in eighth grade. (Continued…)
Post a Comment