by 
…girls!
They mature more quickly, are said to be more responsible and do better at school. Now media-savvy girls are putting another one over the boys by leading the digital communications revolution.
After one of the most comprehensive studies of the effect on children of the explosion in media choices of the past 15 years, the regulator Ofcom said girls aged 12 to 15 are more likely than boys to have a mobile phone, use the internet, listen to the radio and read newspapers or magazines. Only when it comes to playing computer and console games do boys overtake girls.
Given the historic domination of the home telephone by teenage girls, perhaps it is not surprising they are using the internet to communicate with friends for hours on end. Almost all children between 12 and 15 with the internet at home said they were “confident” surfing the web and did so on average for eight hours a week. But girls are more likely than boys to use the web as a communication tool.
The article goes on to state that we need to be careful about our daughters as well as our sons. Though our daughters may not be as physically wired to be turned on by site, the fact that they are connected this way means that they are vulnerable.
Think about the MySpace and other predator discussions we have had in the past. Think of the fact that a lot of girls think it’s right to show off “their stuff” and to get attention via showing their body. Think about the post from a couple of days ago about teenage girls. Society is changing, and we need to (as parents) take note and get on the defensive!
Three simple rules keep children safe. As far as anyone on the internet knows they do not have anything but a usernickname (mine is Loc for example). If you live in the United States your state is sufficent information for them to know where you are from, anything more specific is to much. Last, you do not meet anyone on the internet in real life untill you are over eighteen or have a parent with you. Three simple rules keep the children safe, but don’t be an overlord when you impose them. Do not threaten the kids or they will break them to spite you. Don’t punish them if they break the rules, explain to them why the rules are there and help them understand why they need to follow them. If you ever punish your child for breaking your internet rules you have lost the battle. Wave goodbye, because in the end your child is more computer savy than you and will win any internet war (no banning them from the computer does not work).
Egads, sorry Min. I didn’t mean to write so many posts. I can understand if you can’t answer them all.
Those are some pretty good rules. The problem is they may not be specific enough. I was reading one article (Shannon) where all it took was the name of a team, the number the girl wore, and her state and a policeman was able to come right up to the door.
Whereas limiting things to just those three bits of information would work in theory, when you have people chatting on IM in normal conversation there are many things that are given away without people even knowing it. Sometimes I can figure out a person’s birthday or age by the numbers following their name. Some people are good about keeping things private– but the more you talk to a person, the more it is hard not to feel that they are friendlier than they really are.
It’s tough. But it’s what we got to do.