So the video series was informative, not what I expected at all. The panelists really seemed to set the record straight and the audience seemed receptive; they seemed to accept their ignorance like a good kid swallowing a bitter pill, out of necessity rather than desire, but they swallowed it all the same. Hopefully some good will come of the panel and some real-life, realistic changes will come about. Maybe they already have, online youth victimization isn't one of my areas of expertise.
1. Who are we making safe?
I think what this question is asking is who are we hoping to make safe through legislation, action, inaction etc...I believe that at face-value the answer is teens/children. The "targeted" group defined and discussed in the panel. The panel cleared up the misinformation on the group that is actually being targeted (vs. who the media tells us). Teens are the most "targeted" group.
"Targeted" is defined as, for the purposes of the panel, those who are victims of being taken advantage of in some way by older adults. One quote I like from Dr. David Finckelwhore (not sure if that's spelled correctly):
"[...]Criminal seductions that take advantage of teenage vulnerabilities[...]"
This is what we are guarding against (what we should be guarding against and hopefully future legislation, action by adults and those in power will work to guard against).
As of right now. Based on the information presented. Our current legislation and understanding of the problems is warped and outright erroneous in many instances. The panel took the time to disabuse the audience of many wrongly held beliefs (i.e., deception as a major theme, young children being taken advantage of, abduction a major issue etc.... I don't know if what is being done right now is working so it might not be making anyone any safer in actuality.
2. What are we making safe?
Like I said earlier, based on the current information things aren't being done the right way so we might not be making anything/one safer. But as far as future implications go, we will be making the Internet a "safer" place. Safer being defined as (to me) a place where we have lowered instances of cyber-bullying, harassment by solicitors, marketers and external groups, and unwanted solicitation of all sorts by all groups essentially.
The Internet will be safer in that it will be used explicitly for those things which it is desired for (social networking, research etc...)Is this possible?
A key point to consider: It was stated several times that in the overwhelming majority of these cases, the teen willingly took part in the "unsafe" process by engaging in sexual conversations with the adult/stranger and practicing generally "unsafe" Internet behaviors (*see "Internet Daredevil"). The point was made that only through education and the elimination/minimization of the root problem (in many cases an "unsafe" family/home environment)can we make headway in the problem of adult-child online sexual victimization.
3.What are the consequences of such decisions?
What decisions exactly Prof. Cessums????
I'll say that teens must understand the implications of the decisions they are making. Although the majority of them do (as evidenced by the statistics that show teens are limiting the amount of personal information they put online etc...), many teens still don't understand the long-term consequences that can result in 1.Getting involved in inappropriate conversations 2.Sharing sexual information online 3.Following up with strangers etc...
Once these are THOROUGHLY understood, explained in a REALISTIC manner that does not employ "scare tactics" or obviously unrealistic language and claims, teachers, parents, legislators etc... MUST be willing to 1.have uncomfortable conversations and 2.LEARN THE TECHNOLOGY. You cannot educate about something you don't understand. Kids know this and are able to take advantage of the ignorance of those in power (parents, teachers...).
I think these questions were to broad. I don't see how any of them touched on or tested my understanding of the video.
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