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froodish
Social climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jan 21, 2013 - 11:00am PT
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rgold,
Thoughtful post.
...and I think very little good can come from putting young people in situations that often make bullying, insulting, trolling, and other fairly base forms of human interaction...
Not sure how the Internet is different than Jr. High WRT that ;-)
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crankster
Trad climber
South Lake Tahoe, CA
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Jan 21, 2013 - 11:26am PT
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Exposure to Ron could stunt his growth.
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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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Jan 21, 2013 - 11:57am PT
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Not sure how the Internet is different than Jr. High WRT that ;-)
I know your response was light-hearted, but I'm going to give a serious answer anyway. I think it is different in at least two ways. One, the intensity of the nastiness and the ability of people from far-flung physical locations to gang up on someone magnifies what can occur in the school. But the main and important difference is that you can't tell the seventh-graders from the grownups on the internet when it comes to uncivil behavior, except possibly that the grownups, by virtue of longer experience and better vocabularies, are more accomplished at being seventh-graders.
And that's exactly why I'd want a different environment for my kid, an environment that suggests that humans progress beyond the seventh grade and find ways of relating and disagreeing that are not governed by middle-school outlook. Perhaps this is now hopelessly unrealistic; our national discourse has become almost entirely dysfunctional. But I'd rather go down bucking the abandonment of civility rather than giving up on a vision, however naive, of how a boy can become a good man.
Another approach would be to allow the internet but monitor it closely, and provide a steady level of commentary about what, in your house and your life, is simply not acceptable, no matter what other people do. There is a limited amount of time for this message to get through to a young person, and an 11-year old is nearing the end of that time period.
But really, why should an 11-year old be sitting on their butt in front of a screen? It's so isolating, and the time, time when a young mind is capable of absorbing so much, is so squandered.
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froodish
Social climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jan 23, 2013 - 02:56am PT
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And that's exactly why I'd want a different environment for my kid, an environment that suggests that humans progress beyond the seventh grade and find ways of relating and disagreeing that are not governed by middle-school outlook. Perhaps this is now hopelessly unrealistic; our national discourse has become almost entirely dysfunctional. But I'd rather go down bucking the abandonment of civility rather than giving up on a vision, however naive, of how a boy can become a good man.
rgold, thanks for the usual thoughtful reply.
I'm mostly in agreement with you. OTOH, this thing called the Internet is pretty new - and I have faith that humans will grok it eventually and come to grips with both the power and the hazards of it. The reality is that the Internet (and all the things that come with it) are now just part of daily life. I don't think any attempts to shield children from it will be any more successful than any of the previous attempts were (radio, TV, etc.)
This is part of their world - even more than ours and I think the trick is teaching them to be discerning consumers of the media.
For every kid that's bullied on the Internet, there's probably 5 that have been able to connect to like-minded peers.
I truly believe that the Internet is the most amazing machine ever invented by humans.
Cheers,
-Steve
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snowhazed
Trad climber
Oaksterdam, CA
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Jan 23, 2013 - 03:14am PT
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^ +1
The internet is here, growing, and seeking ubiquity.
Shielding is not the answer.
As many have said, 12 year olds are smart. Be there when he uses it and explain the benefits and the pitfalls. Radical honesty. The internet is a tool unlike anything we have ever known and your son deserves to know that, and also should know it is also often a pit of lies and dark things. Just like the rest of human life.
He's made it this far as a good kid, and you already got the love of the outdoors in him- he wont stay here long- as dmt said- borrrrrrring
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Jan 23, 2013 - 10:42am PT
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I'd vote no.
This is an adult site, people'd by mainly adults.
I view putting him on this site, as another manifestation of parents pushing their children into adult things.....like children in beauty contests.
You can't keep him off if he wants on. But collaborating to do so gives the wrong message.
He should be spending time with his own age group, not people whose filters as to what they should say are not always working.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 23, 2013 - 07:45pm PT
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This is an adult site? I would say the evidence points elsewhere.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jan 23, 2013 - 07:54pm PT
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^^^^ HaHaHaHa! Maybe a developmentally challenged site.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 23, 2013 - 08:01pm PT
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^^ Agreed and I think as said above he ignores the rest. Like who would ever read a 40,000 post thread that says no you dint, yes I did. Luckily the climbing threads on here are short.
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