Is there a certain age that at which you would allow your child to post on an internet forum that wasn't child oriented?
Of course there are the usual issues about safety and child predators and "is my little Johnny looking at weird Dutch porn again?" that any parent would be concerned about, but I'm more interested in hearing about what opinions you would have in terms of what level of social development a kid should reach before being able to interact with adult strangers online.
The only issue that comes to my mind, and this is something that comes from my own experience, is that while a kid may have enough smarts to engage in forum interaction, they may lack the proper amount of emotional development to avoid and/or cope with the usual pitfalls of online dickery. I know that if at age 15 I got into an argument with a stranger over the internet, I would definitely take it personally, resulting in lots of butthurt and hurt feelings and simmering resentments. Not to say that this sort of thing doesn't happen to adult forum users. In fact, it's awfully common.
I joined my first internet forum when I was 13, and PD a few years after that. I'm an adult now, so looking back on it naturally makes me feel a bit embarrassed about the silly things I must have posted, but it also makes me think about this sort of thing more.
Quote from: Nast on April 03, 2013, 10:00:40 AM
I joined my first internet forum when I was 13, and PD a few years after that. I'm an adult now,
I'm an adult now,
I'm an adult now,
I'm an adult now,
Oh, sweet merciful fuck. How long have I
been here?
No, LMNO, you are the adults now.
And then LMNO was a grown-up.
:ahhh:
I think sometime between 13 and 16 depending on maturity. Yeah, they're gonna say retarded shit and get themselves all worked up over bullshit but they'll do that anyway as teenagers, no matter where they are and they need to learn it's not the end of the fucking world sometime. I would add that a strict ban on any selfies, real names, or any real information about themselves online goes with that. The internet is for porn and lying.
Being embarrassed when looking back at the silly things you've posted is a lifelong thing. Take it as a sign of how far you've come.
As a teenager the Internets were still new enough that there really weren't any restrictions for me because nobody knew they were necessary. I think people will find places at their maturity level on their own, and distance themselves from too far above or too far below that.
Between 13-16 seems reasonable.
I remember trolling the fuck out of the MSN chatrooms when I was 14 and it never did me any harm.
hell, i'm pretty embarrassed about the things i have yet to say.
Quote from: Elder Iptuous on April 03, 2013, 04:12:44 PM
hell, i'm pretty embarrassed about the things i have yet to say.
We are too, Ippie, you
sick fuck.Nast the alternative, of course, is that you look at the advice given by complete degenerate bastards like Ippie and myself and consider the relatively positive possibilities of doing the opposite.
Quote from: Cain on April 03, 2013, 04:11:03 PM
Between 13-16 seems reasonable.
I remember trolling the fuck out of the MSN chatrooms when I was 14 and it never did me any harm.
Likewise, or at least in the sense of a bunch of 12-13 girls being all "let's go into a chat under this name and when someone invites us to a private chat and asks for details we'll be all 'I'm really a 50 yo fat guy lolololol". Which, in retrospect, was probably a horrible idea - but the point being I don't think there was any emotional scarring from it.
This being when Alta Vista was popular as a search engine and chat space. (Was it ever popular? I don't know, I was a kid)
Legally, you're an adult at 18 (at least here). Adult is defined as "can vote, can get shot while advancing Halliburton's bottom line in the Middle East, but cannot have a beer while waiting to get shot.
In reality, you're not really an adult (most people, anyway) until you're about 30. This is a good thing.
I'm slowly introducing my kids to the culture. They don't have FB but they do go on youtube and various learning websites. They're monitored. I think as they grow into it they'll more easily adopt the etiquette. The net appeared to me slightly before I was entering puberty (omg sudden insight just struck....shit) and it was kind of an odd transition.
I remember posting some spammery on some BBS wall somewhere and, it turned out, that the tech guy at my mom's work read it and told my mother...lol. So we trip and fall and get back up again although I think 'small doses' is probably best.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on April 03, 2013, 05:19:00 PM
Legally, you're an adult at 18 (at least here). Adult is defined as "can vote, can get shot while advancing Halliburton's bottom line in the Middle East, but cannot have a beer while waiting to get shot.
In reality, you're not really an adult (most people, anyway) until you're about 30. This is a good thing.
Yeah I agree with this. I used to think I was all grown up...then one day I turned 30. :horrormirth:
Quote from: trippinprincezz13 on April 03, 2013, 05:15:00 PM
Quote from: Cain on April 03, 2013, 04:11:03 PM
Between 13-16 seems reasonable.
I remember trolling the fuck out of the MSN chatrooms when I was 14 and it never did me any harm.
Likewise, or at least in the sense of a bunch of 12-13 girls being all "let's go into a chat under this name and when someone invites us to a private chat and asks for details we'll be all 'I'm really a 50 yo fat guy lolololol". Which, in retrospect, was probably a horrible idea - but the point being I don't think there was any emotional scarring from it.
This being when Alta Vista was popular as a search engine and chat space. (Was it ever popular? I don't know, I was a kid)
I dunno, saying you're a fat 50 year old is probably a better idea than saying you are a 13 year old girl...
My brother is 11, he goes on facebook, tumblr and that's about it. I trust him not to go elsewhere for the next few years.
There's not many places I would worry about him going after that, 4chan, any of the desensitisation sites really. I only worry that when he does go looking for pornography he gets studio produced tame not too nasty stuff.
If he's on Tumblr, he's seen the nasty stuff.
I have what most people would probably call an "irresponsibly permissive" approach to my son on the Internet. The only rules are "no video chat; no divulging your real name, age, gender or location; and no pr0n of any kind." This has resulted in his knowing more than I do about a lot of shit, which bugs me on a superficial level. Also he emails me weird shit that he finds which is more interesting than 99% of the shit any of the grown-ups I know post on Facebook.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on April 04, 2013, 04:10:25 PM
If he's on Tumblr, he's seen the nasty stuff.
I'm not so sure, he's just following his friends on it and all they post are pictures from computer games, and his search history is for stuff like Bruno Mars, until he actively starts looking for the grot on tumblr he should be ok. They are quite good at presenting themselves as worksafe until you actually go looking for the furryporn/diaperfetish/sarah palin pictures
I guess so. I just find it very easy to do a google search for "[whatever squick you can think of] tumbler", and the dark underbelly presents itself to you.
Then again, looking for this stuff is kind of a hobby, so maybe it's just me.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on April 04, 2013, 04:51:47 PM
I guess so. I just find it very easy to do a google search for "[whatever squick you can think of] tumbler", and the dark underbelly presents itself to you.
Then again, looking for this stuff is kind of a hobby, so maybe it's just me.
it is definitely there. And I would be worried that he would search for a show like my little pony on it or ANY anime but he doesn't seem to be into those kind of shows which is good.
I find that internet involvement has evolved pretty naturally for my kids. I gave them basic warnings about beware of perverts and be careful what you click on because there are things you can't unsee, and they have gotten a lot of practical advice from their internet-savvy friends. My older two do look at porn, but are careful about not looking at squick porn.
My youngest pretty much only uses Minecraft and Skypes with her friends.
Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on April 04, 2013, 05:21:38 PM
I find that internet involvement has evolved pretty naturally for my kids. I gave them basic warnings about beware of perverts and be careful what you click on because there are things you can't unsee, and they have gotten a lot of practical advice from their internet-savvy friends. My older two do look at porn, but are careful about not looking at squick porn.
My youngest pretty much only uses Minecraft and Skypes with her friends.
MINECRAFT is my son's religion. Servers, mods, skins, texture packs... this kid hacks on Minecraft more than I hack on servers. This is how I know he is at least three times smarter than I am.
Quote from: V3X on April 04, 2013, 05:23:39 PM
Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on April 04, 2013, 05:21:38 PM
I find that internet involvement has evolved pretty naturally for my kids. I gave them basic warnings about beware of perverts and be careful what you click on because there are things you can't unsee, and they have gotten a lot of practical advice from their internet-savvy friends. My older two do look at porn, but are careful about not looking at squick porn.
My youngest pretty much only uses Minecraft and Skypes with her friends.
MINECRAFT is my son's religion. Servers, mods, skins, texture packs... this kid hacks on Minecraft more than I hack on servers. This is how I know he is at least three times smarter than I am.
Yep. It's a good way for little kids to start learning their way around a computer, that's for sure.
Quote from: V3X on April 04, 2013, 04:30:54 PM
I have what most people would probably call an "irresponsibly permissive" approach to my son on the Internet. The only rules are "no video chat; no divulging your real name, age, gender or location; and no pr0n of any kind." This has resulted in his knowing more than I do about a lot of shit, which bugs me on a superficial level. Also he emails me weird shit that he finds which is more interesting than 99% of the shit any of the grown-ups I know post on Facebook.
THIS, in all sectors.
A few simple rules, that have REASONS (like keeping the kids alive, functional, etc.), that are strictly enforced.
Other than that, let 'em screw up while they're young and you're still around to pick up the pieces if needed.