tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11942752.post114467202395905189..comments2023-10-26T10:17:54.935+01:00Comments on red mum: Me No to Bebo - RM column April 7Red Mumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02471648634218431820noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11942752.post-20372934554996374362007-07-29T09:51:00.000+01:002007-07-29T09:51:00.000+01:00Bebo is the best of them, My Space is the one wher...Bebo is the best of them, My Space is the one where you find all of the creeps, pervs and attention seekers, Bebo allows you to reject any comments before they are posted, and the young ones can have private accounts.<BR/><BR/>Bebo is easy to use and fun, I have reported a few girls that have had pictures of them in their underwear (kids don't need to see this) and they have dealt with them quickly, I never got that with My Space, as a parent I do see your concern but I would say that Bebo is the safest of the lot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11942752.post-62697863342002640992006-09-23T16:15:00.000+01:002006-09-23T16:15:00.000+01:00Thanks for the comments Keira and ellie. Glad you ...Thanks for the comments Keira and ellie. Glad you have had no bad experiences on bebo, you seem pretty sensible in your approach. So continue to have fun and being careful, you will get a lot from it.<br /><br />In fairness I set up an account to research the site, I didn't do it to trick anyone and had no interaction with anyone. Except when I had to use the account to ask someone to take nasty comments about my daughter off their page and I told them who i was.<br /><br />But thanks again for dropping by with your contribution, its much appreciated.Red Mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02471648634218431820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11942752.post-11307214642139814772006-09-23T00:56:00.000+01:002006-09-23T00:56:00.000+01:00im a 13 year old girl from NZ and i do indeed see ...im a 13 year old girl from NZ and i do indeed see where you are coming from. These people could look at our pages and stalk us or whatever but there are many ways to prevent this. Bebo does ask you if you wolud like to accept these people as your friends. Additionally u can put a lock on your page so only people you ask though email can look at you site which most people do! Maybe people should encourage this and bebo might be safer but at the moment i havnt had any problems with it. Also you are just as bad making up a fake bebo to see if u can trick kids because that is what people do not just to be a stalker but for fun, to see if they can fake someone.<br /><br />Thanks EllieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11942752.post-1145378780823448602006-04-18T17:46:00.000+01:002006-04-18T17:46:00.000+01:00Notr being a parent and only being seventeen would...Notr being a parent and only being seventeen would probably not put me in the best position to judge you, my own parents or anyone else's for the sheer concern they have for their children's welfare. but I still can't help feeling you've crossed the thin line between concern and paranoia.<BR/><BR/>Firstly, paedophiles are out there. there is very little to prevent that. One way or another they will always, unfortunately find a way to do what they do. I am not even nearly condoning it but it's a undeniable fact that bad things happen. Luckily it occurs to a minority and you can only pray that it's not your own child. That sounds unsympathetic to the minority but there you go.<BR/><BR/>I don't see how anonymity is going to help anyone. If someone really wants top find out who you are, they use ip adresses or other things. Again, i don't condone this. There is a tight line again between the amount of information you should put up. Names? I see no problem. Photos? Again, what harm as long as there is nothing explicit. Phone Numbers? That would be the line. contact information is quite over the top when it's on display to the world. But wihtout being too harsh, only the idiots of this world would do such a thing. Or maybe all us teenagers are just naive foolish kids.<BR/><BR/>Meeting up with anyone you have met thorugh the internet is again an incredibly foolish idea. But again it happens. Even though I@d like to think my peers are smart enough not to do it, i'm sure it happens, possibly to dire consequences.<BR/><BR/>But, you really need to cut your kid some slack. She's clearly very bright and as long as you explain to her what is over the line of danger, Bebo or my space should pose her no threat.<BR/><BR/>For me Bebo is merely for my friends, people who i know and have contact with everyday regardless. The appeal is blatnat as you said, social beings need to socialise right? ULtimately it's jsut another form of what you do through your blog: give people an insight into who you are, be it friends or otherwise and I really don't think it's at all dangerous in anyway intelligent hands.<BR/><BR/>PadraicAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11942752.post-1145296769647517882006-04-17T18:59:00.000+01:002006-04-17T18:59:00.000+01:00We seem to cross blogging paths fairly often. A wh...We seem to cross blogging paths fairly often. A while back I noticed the dangers of Bebo, specifically the way that contact details used to be displayed to friends. In theory that was fine but people were very lax in who they added as friends which is where I came in under the guise of an attractive woman.<BR/><BR/>Over a period of a week I discovered that over 40% of the people who accepted my request for friendship had their contact details displayed! <BR/><BR/>http://adamsrants.com/category/adam-investigates/bebo/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11942752.post-1144918775786132562006-04-13T09:59:00.000+01:002006-04-13T09:59:00.000+01:00I wholeheartedly agree with your feelings on the b...I wholeheartedly agree with your feelings on the bebo site. I heard about it first from Rick O'Shea's site. Obviously because of his radio show he’s very much in touch with ‘the youth’ and also because like yourself he’s a parent. I’m neither. But I’ve been bloging now for a few months and I’m learning a few things about the benefits of anonymity. I don’t have much traffic to my blog but I’ve been surprised by how many random people end up there and how.<BR/>Recently I removed some comments I made from my blog because, as an adult, I need to be careful that I don’t do or say things that I might regret. This event has made me contemplate my online status and the related issues.<BR/>My partner is a fairly private person and has no interest in having a blog or any place where people can see information about her. We are getting hitched soon and hopefully at some stage in the near future we will have kids. This is when I’m now seeing that we’ll be entering into the unknown in a big way and hopefully by having my own blog etc and reading blogs like this one I’ll be closer to having the answers to what to do when our kids are looking to sign up on bebo or whatever it’s going to be at that time. I know my partner will not approve of it but she’ll be clueless how to ensure it doesn’t happen without us knowing.<BR/>I recently registered with bebo and myspace. I found myspace very much populated by people I wouldn’t associate with in my ‘real life’. It’s full of people with nothing to say that just want to put pictures of themselves online and flirt with strangers. The bebo site is much slicker and easier to use and I can see why kids are drawn to it. I’ve only been on there twice so I’m no expert but I too am a little concerned about what I’m seeing and hearing.<BR/>Unfortunately, recent history shows that it is inevitable that most parents will never be as technically literate as their kids and will quite often be unaware of the dangerous things their kids are up to. I’m trying my best to make sure that I’m not going to be one those, but there’s no way to guarantee that something won’t slip under my radar. I’ve been a user of the internet almost since it began and I’ve learned a lot. But I’ve always stayed clear of the chat rooms and such. My blog is my first foray into the idea of putting myself out there and I’m learning that even at the age of 32 and being fairly streetwise, when it comes to the internet I’m still occasionally naïve and make some mistakes. But better me now than my kids in the future.<BR/>Keep up the good work redmum! I’ll be keeping a close eye on your blog to see how this story continues. I’m interested to see what the Young Wan is going to do next. I feel that this is only the beginning of the bebo story for you and many others.Paul Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18088286074752620580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11942752.post-1144876804678297852006-04-12T22:20:00.000+01:002006-04-12T22:20:00.000+01:00Hey redmum!You mentioned me in your column! Sweet ...Hey redmum!<BR/><BR/>You mentioned me in your column! Sweet :-) For me as a 32 year old man it's not an issue (and most of the stuff there about me is freely available elsewhere on the net anyway) but, as a parent myself, looking at some of the 900 or so kids who've linked up with my page it terrifies me the amount of information available. Mates, places they'll be meeting up, photos, even phone numbers in some cases.....<BR/><BR/>Scary...<BR/><BR/>RRick O'Sheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08302772893717557015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11942752.post-1144713627830225912006-04-11T01:00:00.000+01:002006-04-11T01:00:00.000+01:00How very smart of you. When I started my blog I di...How very smart of you. When I started my blog I did not use my senses and keep our names anonymous, and part of me wishes I had. My daughter is very big into MSN, but she is not allowed into the chat rooms and so far there has been no interest from her. So it's just talking to her friends from school and a penpal in England. <BR/>The news here is full of police posing as young kids to catch predators, for every one they do catch I imagine there's thousands they don't.Emma in Canadahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17058142553612290594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11942752.post-1144684514644698052006-04-10T16:55:00.000+01:002006-04-10T16:55:00.000+01:00Omani - I know my forbidding it won't stop her but...Omani - I know my forbidding it won't stop her but fortunately (?? fortunately for now anyway) she is not that mad into computers so I am hoping before that happens she will also have grown up a bit and maybe become more aware of the potential dangers. I completely understand the appeal of Bebo, of course I do, but I still think it is too fraught with danger at the moment, particularly given what I read about the kids my daughter knows.<BR/><BR/>Boliath - I dont think she was too pissed off, yet anyway.Red Mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02471648634218431820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11942752.post-1144678257643730042006-04-10T15:10:00.000+01:002006-04-10T15:10:00.000+01:00Jesus that is terrifying! Whoever is running that ...Jesus that is terrifying! Whoever is running that site needs to install some safeguards immediately. Good for you for doing the background research, I can imagine that the YW is pissed off at you but it's not your job to be her friend eh? Good on you babe, super Mum as always.Boliathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15362098708722733048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11942752.post-1144675149061816632006-04-10T14:19:00.000+01:002006-04-10T14:19:00.000+01:00That's a very strong line you're taking. And you ...That's a very strong line you're taking. And you have every right to take it.<BR/><BR/>What flashes across my mind is: what if she set up an account and runs it from internet cafe? Or from her friend's machine?<BR/><BR/>I don't know what I'd do if I was in your position and you haven't asked me. So I have no business dumping any advice on you, but ...<BR/><BR/>Your research is great, just the sort of research we need.Paul O'Mahony (Cork)https://www.blogger.com/profile/04037675154032285031noreply@blogger.com