Goths and voodoo and witchcraft, oh my!
From WMFY News 2's website:
Greensboro Mother Warns About MySpace.com
Teens who reveal too much could be a target.
WFMY News 2
Jill McNeal , Reporter
Greensboro, NC -- A local parent shocked at what she saw on MySpace.com is helping other parents fight internet predators. All it takes is an email address, and your child has access to everything posted and linked to MySpace. That's what parents found out during a workshop at Kernodle Middle School.
Many teens post their age, picture, city, school and hobbies. Then anyone can e-mail them.
Julie Westholder's 13-year-old daughter was on MySpace for several months, before Westholder started investigating.
"Every time I went to another person's site, it got worse and worse and worse. All of that was linked back to her," Westholder says.
She didn't like what her daughter was exposed to.
"A lot of pornography, Goth stuff, linking to voodooism, witchcraft, dark suicidal stuff."
She shut down her daughter's page, and now wants to educate other parents. If you're under 16, Westholder says don't lie about your age on MySpace. The site puts a privacy lock on younger members. If you're at least 16, you can see everything and everyone on the site, and they can see you.
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Why? Why do they ALWAYS have to bring in goths, witchcraft, and suicide? Yes, there are sexual predators on MySpace and the whole friggin' Internet - what the FUCK do goths and witchcraft have to do with it? And why have people STILL not grown out of that 90's obsession with suicide being linked to black clothes and goth kids? I'm still here, aren't I? Neither Marilyn Manson nor black eyeshadow made me off myself. People should know by now that cheerleaders with big smiles are often hiding emotional baggage, and those of us who indulge our emotions and our lust for fishnet aren't any worse off than anyone else. For as much as Sesame Street and children's books drill it into you that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, adults seem to have completely missed the memo.
I know there are bigger, more important issues out there than some soccer mom railing against ungodliness - but I can't help but take stuff like that personally. I mean, she just equated me with pedophiles. I hope her 13-year-old daughter turns into a punk rocker.
Greensboro Mother Warns About MySpace.com
Teens who reveal too much could be a target.
WFMY News 2
Jill McNeal , Reporter
Greensboro, NC -- A local parent shocked at what she saw on MySpace.com is helping other parents fight internet predators. All it takes is an email address, and your child has access to everything posted and linked to MySpace. That's what parents found out during a workshop at Kernodle Middle School.
Many teens post their age, picture, city, school and hobbies. Then anyone can e-mail them.
Julie Westholder's 13-year-old daughter was on MySpace for several months, before Westholder started investigating.
"Every time I went to another person's site, it got worse and worse and worse. All of that was linked back to her," Westholder says.
She didn't like what her daughter was exposed to.
"A lot of pornography, Goth stuff, linking to voodooism, witchcraft, dark suicidal stuff."
She shut down her daughter's page, and now wants to educate other parents. If you're under 16, Westholder says don't lie about your age on MySpace. The site puts a privacy lock on younger members. If you're at least 16, you can see everything and everyone on the site, and they can see you.
______________________
Why? Why do they ALWAYS have to bring in goths, witchcraft, and suicide? Yes, there are sexual predators on MySpace and the whole friggin' Internet - what the FUCK do goths and witchcraft have to do with it? And why have people STILL not grown out of that 90's obsession with suicide being linked to black clothes and goth kids? I'm still here, aren't I? Neither Marilyn Manson nor black eyeshadow made me off myself. People should know by now that cheerleaders with big smiles are often hiding emotional baggage, and those of us who indulge our emotions and our lust for fishnet aren't any worse off than anyone else. For as much as Sesame Street and children's books drill it into you that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, adults seem to have completely missed the memo.
I know there are bigger, more important issues out there than some soccer mom railing against ungodliness - but I can't help but take stuff like that personally. I mean, she just equated me with pedophiles. I hope her 13-year-old daughter turns into a punk rocker.