Radical trust is just not going to work
--Library Coordinator Christopher Harris

When it comes to students on the Web, the administrator in me comes down on behalf of safety, not necessarily filtering, but some measure of control over the chaos that is the Internet. Instead of radical trust, I propose that we try— with the cooperation of administrators— to achieve " moderated trust".

MySpace and other social networking sites can be a positive social experience for kids.

Adults need to accept that and not try to keep their kids away from it. --Professor Justin Patchin of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

"It’s a useful exercise for parents to create a public profile in MySpace and let their kids know about it. The more we start using these social networks ourselves, the better informed we can be about them - and the more aware that teens will be, knowing that they don’t have the run of the house to themselves." --Andy Carvin on the Patchin Study

"Is Andy Carvin serious? He thinks these percentages are good? I think he greatly underestimates the resourcefulness of child abuse predators."—posted response of Renee Cornair

"Most kids spend too much time on the computer and parents generally say it is ok untill their child spends nearly every waking moment on the computer; by then it is too late for most parents to do much, because their child will ignore them and just find another way to get on the web." —posted response by Tim

"The media and many parents have demonized MySpace, but we found that an overwhelming majority of adolescents are using the site responsibly." —researcher Justin Patchin

Radical Trust

"Trust teens to make good choices. Have MySpace in schools and libraries so we can help them to make those good choices."

A recent study, based on an examination of the contents of nearly 1,500 personal Web pages published by teens on MySpace, suggests that many young people are more responsible online than conventional wisdom might suggest.

  • Almost 40 percent of the profiles included the youth’s first name, and about 9 percent included their full name.
  • About 4 percent included their instant messaging name, and 1 percent included their e-mail address.
  • Almost 57 percent of the profiles included at least one photo of the teen, often of themselves with family, friends or people they met at a social gathering. Many others provided detailed descriptions of their personal appearance.
  • About 5 percent of the teens included photos of themselves in a swimsuit or underwear, and 15 percent included photos of friends in a swimsuit or underwear.
  • About 81 percent of the youth included the name of the city in which they live, and another 28 percent named the school they attend.
  • About 18 percent of the sites included evidence of alcohol use, 7 percent included evidence of tobacco use and 2 percent included evidence of marijuana use.>
  • Nearly 20 percent of the profiles included profanity, and almost 33 percent of the sites included swear words in the posted comments..