In response to Kyle’s blog, I did really nothing over the break. I have been to the mountains before and I sure would have liked to be doing that instead of staying around Regina. I am hoping that I will be able to go out to B.C. in the near future. I found out last summer that it is just as beautiful in the summer as it is in the winter. You can’t get anything better than tenting beside a small stream. The water sounds put you to sleep and peacefully wake you up in the morning.
On the break I did my volunteer hours for another class, as well as a lot of other homework. I did have time to watch Oprah one day and I would like to discuss what I saw. It was about technology and WebCams (http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200602/20060215/slide_20060215_284_101.jhtml). There was a nineteen year old boy featured, who at thirteen years old was introduced to becoming an Internet porn star. At the time of the show he was out of the ‘business’ but was supposed to be in hiding because, after an investigative reporter finally helped him (not his mother or his father) he turned in all the pedophiles paying him to do very unnatural things at such a young age. This boy was an honour student and really quite an intelligent boy, especially in regards to using computers. He did not know that it was older men who were on the other end of the Internet connection watching him take off his shirt and pants and then continue to get paid for masturbating or having sex with a variety of women. He also was unaware that these men communicated with one another and could tell one another how far they got him to go so that the next one could push him a bit further, or offer him a bit more money. Many of these pedophiles were doctors, lawyers, teachers, counselors, etc, people who children should be able to trust.
What really gets to me is that everyone noticed his behaviour had changed. He was living with his mother and she did not understand why he stayed up in his room all of the time or what he was doing in there. At one time he lied about going to a computer conference with a friend in Las Vegas so that he could be flown there to meet a man he talked to over the Internet, who sexually molested him when he was there. Of course, when friends at school found out about his vast array of porn on the Internet word got around and he went to live with is father in Mexico, bringing all of his money from his WebCam business with him. He ended up telling his father how he had gotten the money and instead of helping him get out of the situation, his dad helped him make more money. So this story goes on, and the boy gets further into his business, as well as into alcohol and drugs. A news reporter stumbled across this young boy, and his pedophiles who were talking about this sixteen year olds life on the Internet. Finally, someone gained his trust and helped him out of this horrible situation.
I know that was a long introduction but I just can not help but think about how horrible this is. There are so many young teenagers who have access to the Internet and WebCams as well. No one knew about his life, and the people who he should have been able to trust either did not do anything to find out or helped him continue instead of helping him quit. No child, whether they are thirteen or sixteen, can get out of something this large on their own. No child should be in a position that they can be sucked into this kind of thing on the Internet. When you are making thousands of dollars and living a life you think is pretty easy everything probably looks okay. The bottom line is that this boy wanted out and all he needed was one caring person who knew it was not right to say to him that he can quit.
The investigative reporter who helped this boy stated, on Oprah, that there is no reason for any teenager to have a WebCam and that any child who does have one in their room should have it thrown away. For Oprah’s show they went to buy a WebCam to show to the audience and the boy asked the young teen that was working at the store what they were used for. He answered him by saying they were used to chat and for porn. I was blown away by this. I do not think I have my head in the gutter but who would ever think of something like that. I feel like you can teach your students all you want about Internet safety but you can not be with them all day, in their rooms, in their houses, making sure that they are not getting sucked into this cruel and disgusting Internet activity.
What would you do as a parent or a teacher to teach your children/students about such things? How would you monitor their Internet activity? Obviously, it should be monitored and it can be monitored but children are very smart and can probably find ways around parental blocking and also delete the history of websites visited. There are probably many more children who are wrapped up in Internet porn or who are chatting with pedophiles over the Internet at any time. I know that this situation seems a bit unreal but it is true and it is not like he was the only child involved in it.
Here is a list of things Oprah has suggested parents tell their children, or teachers tell their students for that matter: http://www.oprah.com/presents/2005/predator/safety/safety_online.jhtml. I just do not know what you would do to make sure something like this never happens.
~Linsey~
