Brisbane Times has a ripper of a headline this morning: Net a ‘supermarket’ for pedophiles. That’s what QLD Detective John Rous had to say about social networking sites like Facebook, and the Brissy Times lapped it up. You can’t buy headlines that good!
Sure they could have gone with something along the lines of ‘Detective Warns Parents To Educate Kids on Net Safety,’ but that wouldn’t have been nearly as fear-inducing would it.
The problem with headlines like the one Brisbane Times used is that they make a lot of parents so scared, they simply ban their children from using FaceBook and MySpace. Of course, kids being kids will defy their parents wishes and won’t be any wiser about the dangers.
Ignore the sensationalism and focus on talking to your children about using social networking websites safely. With some education and a bit of parental advice, there’s no need to start bolting up the windows and barricading the doors. Here’s the QLD police’s guide on net safety which might help you in speaking with your kids.
