I sent my last message and then received this from NetFamilyNews:
The latest technopanic
No comparative study has been done, but - having recently traveled around
the world for 10 months and talked with people involved with children's
online safety in a number of countries - I can tell you more than
impressionistically that no country has experienced an extended technopanic
about predators on the social Web quite the way the US has. The facts about
online predation have been misrepresented in the US news media and by
politicians purporting to champion child protection while fanning fears that
not only draw attention away from rational consideration of both the problem
and solutions but also potentially put youth at greater risk. How? Fear
causes the kind of overreaction that breaks down parent-child communication
at a time when it's most needed - when kids can easily go "underground" in
various ways, further from the informed, non-confrontational parental
support that really can help them have positive online experiences.
Fear and hype also delay rational discussion out in the public arena. We are
way behind the UK in even holding meetings on social-networking-industry
best practices, much less drawn up a list (as the UK Home Office has
<http://www.netfamilynews.org/2008/04/uk-governments-guidelines-for-social.h
tml>). I would love to see a comparative multi-country study on
child-protection measures, but there is other, more important social-media
research to be done too.
So what's a "technopanic"? It's "a moral panic over contemporary
technology," as Alice Marwick at New York University ably describes it in
"To catch a predator? The MySpace moral panic"
<http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2152/196
6>. Several points in Marwick's conclusion deserve highlighting: 1) "While
online predators do not represent an epidemic or socially significant
problem, child pornography and child abuse are important social issues that
require attention. However, they are not caused by minors using MySpace, and
preventing children from using social-networking sites will do nothing to
end these problems"; 2) Inaccurate "negative coverage of technology
frightens parents, prevents teenagers from learning responsible use, and
fuels panics, resulting in misguided or unconstitutional legislation"; and
3) "Prohibiting teens from using MySpace will not prevent them from using
the site, and instead will dissuade them from talking about any
problems that occur. Taking a nuanced, informed, and gradual approach to the
social integration of new technologies will do more to lessen harm and
improve responsible user practice than a panicked, emotional response." [See
also a video report in eSchoolNews: "Online safety: Dispelling common myths"
<http://www.eschoolnews.com/conference-info/necc/highlights/?i=54386;_hbguid
=64297a3a-cd5f-49d6-be85-34d2eccd3422&d=necc>.]
I highly recommend a subscription to NetFamilyNews. This is a once a week
news message. Subscribe here. <http://www.netfamilynews.org/subscribe.htm>.
Nancy
--
Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D.
Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use
http://csriu.org
http://cyberbully.org
http://cyber-safe-kids.com
http://csriu.wordpress.com
nwillard@csriu.org
Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social
Aggression, Threats, and Distress (Research Press)
Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens: Helping Young People Learn to Use the
Internet Safely and Responsibly (Jossey-Bass)
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