Re: Pedophiles and the internet: NOT!

[Gabriel Gancarz <gancarz@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu>]

> Just remember that the Internet is far safer than your school hallways,
> the playground, the walk home, or home itself.

  I agree.  Much of the fear is due in part to the fact that the
  Web is such a new medium (at least new in terms of widespread
  popularity).  Fear of the unknown seems to be the greatest fear of all
  in many cases.  I understand why people are afraid of things happening
  to their kids via the Web, but should parents not be more afraid of the
  possibility that a LOCAL stranger will come into contact with their
  loved ones?  I think parents/teachers need to realize that telling their
  kids to use the Web wisely and safely in one sense is not so different
  from instructing them not to talk to strangers while walking home or not
  letting strangers into their front doors.  In another sense it is very
  different since those strangers on the Net cannot see the kids and can
  get their names/locations much less easily.  If the necessary
  precautions are taken and kids' parents make them aware of the potential
  dangers of revealing identitities/locales in a chat room, newsgroup,
  etc., there should be nothing to fear.  Finally, a Net stranger is much
  more likely to be far away instead of right in the neighborhood like
  most potential pedophiles. Worry more about what's outside your
  front door than what's in cyberspace, in my humble opinion.

  $.02

  Gabe
    ___   ___     _________  _______     _______
    / /  / //    _/ ___  //  / ___//    _/_  _// Gabriel R. Gancarz
  _/ /  / //     / /  / // _/ //__        / //  gancarz@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu
  / /  / //    _/ /  / //  / ___//      _/ //  The University of Illinois
_/ /__/ //     / /__/ // _/ //         _/ //_ Grad School of Library &
/______//    _/______//  /_//        _/____//nformation Science

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