Reader Response due 09/21
The prompt that I am choosing to write about is parents having access to their teens’ online accounts. Respectable parents give life, food, and shelter to their children. Parents do a lot for their kids, they want to see them succeed and grow to be well developed adults. With all of the things that parents do for their kids, I believe that they should have access to their kids’ facebook accounts, myspace accounts, etc. Most parents have their child’s best interest at heart. They want to know what is going on in their kids’ lives, and some kids aren’t very open or truthful with their parents. Through social networking sites parents can get somewhat of a good feel of what is going on with their kids. If their child is being picked on or has inappropriate pictures up, they could never know. By parents knowing what is on their kids’ websites, they could be preventing damage to their kid’s reputation. To some people this might not seem like a big deal, but the audience viewing these websites could be fellow classmates, principals, future employers, religious leaders, and family members. Teenagers might not think about it at the time, but to the people that I just listed, posted photos or things written publicly could be highly offensive or inappropriate. Some things that happen in peoples’ lives should be kept private, and with social networking sites more and more things are made public. Sure there are positives from being social with friends online, but do those positives outweigh the negatives? If parents have passwords to their kids websites, it could keep them in the know, therefore keeping their kids safe.