Outsourcing Responsibility

I see this note today, Teen, Mom sue MySpace for $30 Million.


For anyone who does not know yet, Myspace.com is a gathering site frequented by teens and others. I have no accounts, or dealings with MySpace so I have no agenda, for or against them. Also in interest of full disclosure, my children are not old enough to be involved with MySpace and other such enterprises.

I have learned from others that MySpace has a great deal of good qualities. I have also learned that there are a great deal of bad people that use this service for their own sordid pleasures. It seems to be a playground for pedofiles. It also provides a great place for people to match up like interests.

There are people advocating for increased regulation and forced policing of this site. Let me say that any changes imposed by Congress should be carefully considered, and any heavy handed regulation should be resisted. That being said I think any site that hooks people up like this has to be careful, and has to take its responsibility very seriously. Efforts by the members of these sites are correct to demand more policing. If parents are not satisfied of the security, they should take measure to block their children from it. (Very good blockers seem to be available).

Now for the question of the lawsuit. We as parents are the protectors of our kids. We must protect them with every part of our being. Sometimes bad people still will get through and bad things will happen. In those cases, the guilty should pay. First of all the perpetrators need to be brought to justice. When law enforcement comes looking for help in this, the website management should help out where appropriate. If they do not help out, and something happens, then they bear liability.

Lawsuits that charge more should have been done are ambiguous and open to subjective means. I come back to parents. Maybe our kids should sue us saying more should have been done. You and I as parents have a responsibility to give your kids as much or as little privacy as is appropriate. It is not loving to give kids a long leash that allows them to enter into harms way.

When kid gets off a computer, his/her history list should be inspected. Maybe not every time, but sometimes. They should have an email account that you are the administrator of. Emails should not be looked at all the time, but they need to know you reserve the right to inspect them. Their passwords must be accessible to you. If not you need to cut off their access. Questions of kids privacy goes back a long way, even before internet was common. I do not believe you should go beyond what is prudent. That of course if hard to determine in an objective manner. If your kid is very adult, and responsible, little monitoring is necessary. If they are less responsible, more is necessary. Not monitoring them, however is asking for disaster. These are our children!!!!!!!!

I have recently come across a wonderful TV program on the TLC network, Shalom in the Home, hosted by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. He helps families find ways to find more Shalom (peace) in their homes in time of trouble. On his website for the show are printed some Shmuleyisms. I found these to informative and thought provoking. Some of them have caused me to be much more introspective of my role in my children's lives.

God Bless us and our families.