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Do you know what your child talks about when they are on IM? In Forums? MySpace? A startling statistic from Drug, Sex Talk Present In Teen Online Chats stated the following:
A new study shows nearly 2 percent out of 10 million messages examined discussed drugs or sex. That’s nearly 200,000 messages in the one-year period that ended March 31, 2007.
What’s happened with the Internet age and the proliferation of all sorts of technologies that allow you to be attached at all times is that there are more ways for teens to have access to things that they would have not gotten involved with before because of what they would have had to do to get access to it.
When there was a stigma attached to some things– like going into a store to get a dirty magazine– everyone could see the person and it would help them to do what is right.
Now we have the Internet and the ability to chat via our phones– where no one can hear us because we are keying it text. We have services that let people know what you are doing and where you are. We have acronyms for things to keep conversation from prying parental eyes.
It has always been important for us to know what is going on in our children’s and spouses lives– but never as much as it is in the age of computers and instant communication.
This issues has become so much more “public”. People are experience the heartache of internet “friendships” more these days.
Thanks for stopping by my site. I’d love to send you a copy of my book (Emotional Purity: An Affair of the Heart)for review. You all pick good books to review and I would believe my book would be right up your alley! Especially with a post like this one!
Heather
After reading more of what makes romantic relationships work (Mom’s Needs, Dad’s Needs) a lot of “summer romances” and “online romances” begin to make sense. People get very attached to who they think the other person is. They open up to them in ways that they would never open up to anyone else. It’s scary because in an over sexualized society we’re saying and doing things online that we’d never say or do in public, and it’s just feeding the beast.
Thanks for offering me a copy of your book. I believe that I would enjoy reading it.
You should receive a copy soon!
Heather