Hey, It's Not Just Us!

When most people think about how the internet has affected this generation, the most prevalent argument would be that social sites, such as facebook and myspace, are providing teenagers the opportunity to share intimate details about their lives. Since elementary school, children have been taught that they must be aware of online predators and that they must be careful about what the put on the internet as once information is on the internet, it can never be deleted. However, what if intimate details about a childs life are put on the internet without their consent? The article I just read talks about a case where a new mother blogs constantly about the difficulties of motherhood and the conflicts she has with her children. Her oldest child, who had been the focus of her blogs, is now protesting against her mothers blogs and refuses to be photographed with the fear that every detail of her life will soon be on the internet. This brings up a new ethical dilemma... does the legal system need to provide underage children with rights that protect them against their own parents blogs?

Apparently this has become a growing problem through out the nation. The mother I just described  seems to have no problem putting her children's lives on the internet. Surprisingly, she is not alone. Many other mothers who are also dealing with the struggles of motherhood follow her blog. She has so many followers that she has actually turned her blogging into an extremely lucrative business. Because her oldest daughter has refused to be part of her mothers blog, she is going to start blogging about her younger child. But how long is it going to be before her younger child starts rebelling? Is it right to exploit your children for monetary gain?

In today's world, there is so much controversy over the misuse of the internet by the children of this generation. People are constanly warning us (by "us" I mean the younger generation) about the dangers of releasing personal information and pictures on the internet. However, what happens when we have no control over how much of our lives are displayed on the internet? Do underaged children have the legal right to tell their parents to not blog about their personal lives? I mean, as far as I know, until you're 18 your parents can do pretty much whatever they want. I think that no one has really thought about this issue because the mindset of the generations ahead of us have not had to deal with these types of situations. They only see what's going on from an outsiders point of view. What stands out to them are websites like facebook, where teenagers are constantly getting introuble for what they share with the world. However, the internet is available to everyone and, just as there are teenagers that do know how to use the internet properly, there are adults that are engaging in online behavior that can have an adverse affect on others.

To me, this article shows that there needs to be a complete change in the mindset of society as a whole. Maybe, if people looked at the way the internet is being used by society as a whole it could be more easily understood how we can make the internet a safer place. Also, this is a great example of how "technology creates itself out of itself". As the technology of the internet evolves and ethical issues of its use come to our attention, the technology of our legal system must evolve simultaneously.