Girls Know Way Around Net
Thomas, K. (2002, February 13). Girls Know Way Around Net, Parents. USA Today.
OVERVIEW
Teenage girls are hiding a whole lot from their parents: 30% say they’ve been sexually harassed online, but only 7% have told their parents. Their reason: fear of being “unplugged” from the Internet.
Most teen girls consider themselves the savviest computer users in their homes—better than their brothers and, of course, way better than their parents. Studies indicate that more than half of girls say that they can chat, flirt, and even read parents’ email. Almost 20% of these girls believe that they could even hack into a school computer.
“ ‘Girls experience emotionally complex situations online, such as porn spam, but they’re not going to tell their parent,’ ” says lead researcher Whitney Roban. “ ‘They figure, “If I don’t tell them, they won’t know what’s happening.” ’ ” Girls say they know the difference between safe and unsafe online behavior and have “common sense.” But only 4% say nothing bad happens online. So, they know online behavior can be bad and unhealthy for them.
75% Of girls say their parents have set rules about online use, such as “don’t talk to strangers,” “don’t chat,” and “don’t give out personal information.” But 43% admit they do not follow parents’ rules.
Most girls say they can easily get around parents’ rules, as 87% say they can secretly chat, 54% can carry on a cyber love affair, and nearly half say they are able to set up an in-person meeting with an online friend and get into a porn site. Girls say they know what they are doing, yet they are still teenagers and are emotionally vulnerable.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION
- What in this article is familiar to you, as an internet user? Could you categorize yourself in any of those percentages with those girls?
- How can the internet be harmful to users?
- How can youth workers open the communication lines among teenager girls on the subject?
- In what ways do you think the internet can be beneficial?
- How can the internet be used for good works?
- Can the communication value of the internet help communication with your kids?
- Technology is meant to make our lives simpler; does it? Or does it make it more complicated?
- How could faith-based chat rooms be useful among teenage girls?
- Girls are sophisticated technologically, but they still need supervision and direction. It is important for parents and/or youth workers to know enough about the internet to be approachable. How much should we know? As internet users, how educated do we have to be on this subject without also being tempted by the dark side of the internet?
- Girls know and try to avoid the dangers of the internet, but if they chat with somebody a long time and build a relationship, they may start to trust their online friend more than the relationships around them at home. When they are able to trust an online friend, what they’ve learned about danger may melt away.
- Girls should be treated “like young adults-in-training, because that’s what they’re going on the Internet to find.” (Quote from Katherine Tarbox, who at age 13 was involved in one of the first federal online prosecutions. Now, age 20, she is the author of Katie.com).
- We need to build relationships with girls in order to find out the answers they are seeking on the Internet.
- How can youth workers faciliate communication among teenage girls on this subject? We could hold seminars led by an internet expert. Formal and informal discussions may be helpful. Youth workers need to understand what is happening with teenage girls and their computers.
Kelsey Fowler cCYS
