In the News: Be Afraid

Don’t Talk to Invisible Strangers – New York Times and IMs: What’s a Mother to Do? – Washington Post—goodie! More fearmongering article to annoy me. It’s not that I don’t believe that people (not just kids, but anyone) can get into trouble on the Internet. Hell, be honest. Anyone can get into trouble anywhere by sharing the wrong information with the wrong person. Only the clinically paranoid would conclude that people should never ever talk to anyone else as a result. Yet the conclusion of these sorts of articles is a catalogue of fears and a long list of don’ts that ultimately result in families severely limiting access or taking away access altogether. Just once I’d like to see a positive spin on building community and establishing safe online persona. As long as fear sells though, it’s not likely to happen. What we need to be afraid of is how fear is shaping our ways of moving through the world.