In June 2006, a sixteen-year-old girl named Katherine Lester tricked her parents into getting her a passport by convincing them that she was going to Canada with friends. She then promptly disappeared. Two days later the FBI was able to track her down on a flight from New York to Tel Aviv, Israel. At a scheduled stop in Amman, Jordan, U.S. officials eventually persuaded her to return home.
Lester, a straight-A student and, according to family members, a normal teenager, attempted to visit a man whom she assumed to be a twenty-five-year-old who lives in Jericho, a city in the West Bank.1 Had she not be detained, she would have found twenty-year-old Palestinian Adallah Jinzawi, who to this day proclaims to “love [her] until the end of time.”2
They had met on the social networking website MySpace.
A virtual mall
Roughly a month after Katherine Lester garnered national media attention, MySpace.com reached national news under its own volition. It had just been named the most heavily trafficked site on the Internet, just ahead of Yahoo. At the time of that report, almost 4.5 percent of all traffic on the Internet was at MySpace.3 With more than 120 million registered users, and with users signing up at the rate of 270,000 a day, it is no wonder that they were able to make that claim. Of those 120 million users, about one-fourth are minors.
What started out as a website for indie (i.e., independent) bands to connect with their fans has blossomed into the place to go on the Internet for teenagers who want to hang out online. Think of it as an online mall where teenagers can socialize from the comfort of their home computers. MySpace makes it easy for anyone to create an account and have his or her own webpage where friends can visit and leave messages. Pages can be marked as private for one’s circle of friends. However, pages can also be displayed to the surfing community at large.
Children who come to the site and say they are under fourteen may not create accounts or have their own pages, and new rules based on users’ ages have been put in place. These rules control what information the public can view. However, MySpace has no way of verifying age. In response, with the sole goal of tightening security and improving public safety on its website, MySpace has taken steps such as hiring an online security chief.
In the real world, where large numbers of people meet, crime and mass media usually follow. The same is true online. The story of Katherine Lester is not all that different for many users of MySpace. Sites such as MyCrimeSpace have popped up, chronicling violent crimes, molestations, and civil actions that have happened as a result of MySpace. Television shows and music labels use the site to distribute their content in the form of music and video clips. Playboy magazine even has a campaign called “the Girls of MySpace” that solicits nude photos from any female user whose profile is eighteen or older and then allows other members to view and rate them as potential candidates for the magazine. Remember that little problem MySpace has with verifying age?
MySpace is not the only social networking website with these problems. Many copycat sites generate the same responses from teenagers and even adults. However, news outlets choose to report on MySpace because it is the most popular site of its type.
It’s interesting to note that the crimes committed on MySpace against minors—when compared to crimes against minors in the real world—make up just a small fraction of total incidents. However, MySpace is no safer from the type of crimes committed with no online interaction at all. While predators can lurk around schools and playgrounds, abuse relationships, and find other means to commit their crimes, using the Internet and social networking sites is just another way to do it. The way in which these sites operate and the ease with which a person can falsify information make it too easy for a predator to resist. And it is too easy for teenagers to not consider the reality of their actions.
GodSpace
Even though it was written thousands of years before there was such a thing as the Internet, the Bible gives believers a clear guideline for Internet activity. This guideline applies to all believers in general, but it can be broken down into two groups: teenagers and adults.
In Psalm 101, David in a prayer to God affirmed, “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.” A teenager’s response to MySpace and any other website is to be on the lookout for things that are wicked, or immoral, in God’s eyes. Much of the conversation on MySpace is subtly sexual in nature. A teenage girl may think she’s being flattered from an older twentysomething guy when really his language contains hidden sexual overtones. God tells a believer to be wary about such things.
In retrospect, Paul encouraged Timothy to flee the lusts of his youth and pursue righteousness (2 Timothy 2:22). He also told the believers in Philippi to think about things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8, 9). Such is true with everyday conversation, including Internet communication: if it doesn’t fall into any of these categories, then we are to flee from it. Only with a good foundation in the Word of God will a teenager be prepared to recognize sin for what it truly is—whether on the Internet or in the world.
God tells parents in Proverbs 22:6 that they should raise their children in the proper way so that when their children are older they will not forget what they have been taught. This principle is just as true today in relation to the Internet as it is with situations in the real world.
Times have changed from previous generations regarding how parents protect their children. Many parents can remember back to when they were allowed to roam their neighborhoods as children, and their parents did not seem to worry about where they were as long as they were home for lunch and supper. Most parents today are very protective about who their children play with and what their children are involved in. Why is this not the case for their children’s Internet activity? It may be due partly to a lack of understanding. If that is the case, wouldn’t a parent want to gain more knowledge and understanding about the Internet?
Protective actions
What can be done to protect children, as well as adults, from the dangers that lurk online? Should parents ban their children from sites like MySpace? That depends on the situation. Think again of a digital mall. Teens in general are social creatures. They want to fit in. They want to be accepted. Think of sites like MySpace offering a place to fulfill that desire. For the first time in history teenagers are able to contribute to the medium that they consume. They get to partake in the creation of the content. They get to help it evolve. The Internet in general can offer a way for today’s children to be literary. However, children need to learn from their parents what is and is not acceptable when it comes to forms of expression and absorbing content online.
There also needs to be accountability on the part of all involved with using the Internet at home. Place the computer in a public room, such as the living room, or in an area that is heavily trafficked. Position the monitor where anyone can cast a glance and see what is on the screen. In some respects, having a computer with Internet access in a child’s room would be like dropping a child off in the middle of Times Square at night. Parents should explain to their children that nothing they do on the Internet is truly private, and they should have access into whatever sites or systems their kids use. Parents should also teach their children about the dangers of giving out private and personal information. And parents should set boundaries, such as the amount of time spent online, places that can be visited, and who their kids’ online friends can and should be.
However, boundaries protect children only at home. Parents should make it clear that the boundaries pertain to all online interaction—including at school and in the library. It is interesting to note that most public places that allow children online access are also aware of the dangers and are taking their own steps to lessen them. Even so, God has given parents the responsibility to know what their children are involved with, to attempt to understand it, and to act accordingly. Only with constant parent-child communication and with a deep foundation in what God’s Word has to say on the subject will a child be prepared for Internet usage inside and outside the home.
Software tools can block and regulate Internet access. However, this type of software is somewhat of a misnomer. With just a simple Google search one can find ways around this software. There are even websites that allow free anonymous surfing and ways for people to bypass locks and banned sites. Several websites allow free anonymous surfing and ways for people to bypass locks and banned sites. Blocking/regulating software can create a false sense of security, causing parents to let their guard down when it comes to monitoring their children’s Internet activity. Although software can be used effectively, it should never be fully trusted; it should never be on the front line of prevention.
The Internet can be a great tool when used properly and within the precepts of God’s Word. However, just as with the real world, mankind’s sinful nature has done more than just creep in. It has taken over digital technology by storm. Only by guarding what we see, filling our minds with proper thoughts, and having a level of accountability will we be able to protect ourselves and those around us.
Notes
1 Associated Press, “Teen returns from MySpace trek to Mideast,” MSNBC, June 9, 2006, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13223772.
2 Simon McGregor-Wood, “The Palestinian Teen Who Found Love on Myspace.com,” ABCNews International, http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=2107580.
3 Jennifer LeClaire, “MySpace Named Most Trafficked US Web Site,” TechNewsWorld, July 13, 2006, http://www.technewsworld.com/story/51754.html.
Nat Kealen serves as network administrator at Regular Baptist Press and attends First Baptist Church, Arlington Heights, Illinois.
