Predators and the Internet.

There have been hundreds of stories in the news, in recent years, about young girls or children being "lured" by sex offenders or pedophiles through Internet chat rooms. People shake their heads in disgust and raise their hands in protest when it becomes evident that these incidents cannot be attributed, solely, to the service providers. Yet, service providers are merely a vehicle for communications not babysitters.

Let's look at the most recent case against MySpace by a family in Texas. The family of a young girl who was "lured" and,eventually, sexually assaulted by someone she met on MySpace filed a $30million dollar liability suit against MySpace and lost. I tend to agree with the court decision because it punctures the comfort zone balloon most parents have been using to blame outside sources for all their misgivings. Nothing is their fault; how could They have known; what could They have done. How about being a parent to your children, instead of, a friend.

The young lady in this case, and 100's like it, misrepresented herself on MySpace and paid a high price. Do I condone the fact that she was assaulted? Absolutely not! However, I will not accept that the parents had no culpability in this tragedy. I have many relatives and acquaintances who have children, ranging from, 14 to 9 years of age. They limit Internet use for their children and monitor any use with a fervor. Their kids protest, claim to hate them and worse but these parents don't budge. They are parents first and friends when necessary. Finding victims over the Internet is the modern day version of personal ads where similar incidents occurred but few read about it because it would be on page 9 of the paper in small print.

The bottom line is that technology has always been a double-edged sword. It can be used for good or evil. Another factor must be considered in all this; the dismemberment of the family unit. Divorce, parental narcissism and the abandonment of a parent's responsibility for their children's actions have allowed our society to regress, instead of, progress. Talk with anyone who is in law enforcement and they will tell you how one or all of these factors have led to a social erosion which they have to clean-up on a daily basis. Assaulting someone be they young or old, male or female, is a punishable offence. I am all for locking them up and throwing away the key. However, I am, equally,in favor of finding a means to punish parents who do not govern their domain in a responsible manner. You cannot protect your children from every ill or danger but you can be more vigilant in monitoring your children. In doing so, you will find it easier to spot changes in behavior which could lead to tragedy.