Too
close for comfort: Blogs put teens at
risk
Sunday, August 21, 2005 • BY
PHILIP READ • Star-Ledger Staff
Her name is Tiffany. She's 5-foot-2 and
athletic. Her sign is Cancer.
And this Glen Ridge teen has "260
friends" on her online community, including one 16-year-old
who describes their hometown as "the smallest, worst, most
boring town ever."
Tiffany's for-all-the-world-to-see
"blurbs" reveal such details as her birthday, eye color,
siblings and how you can IM, or instant message, her on the
spot.
It is bare-all online journals such as
these -- common among New Jersey teenagers -- that prompted
a mailing to parents and guardians by the school district in
recent days about the perils of these personal Web pages
embraced by so many students in this high-income town with
one of the state's top-ranked school systems.
"Students are posting personal
information and pictures which clearly show these students
involved in various inappropriate and occasionally illegal
activities," the letter signed by the Glen Ridge schools'
administrative team says. "There are many references to
alcohol and drug use, as well as strong sexual
content."
The cyberspace equivalent of a key-locked
diary shoved under some clothing in a dresser drawer now is
an open portal into the most intimate feelings -- and
concrete details -- of America's teenagers.
"I think any district that looked at what
their kids were doing would have been shocked," said Daniel
Fishbein, Glen Ridge's school superintendent. "I'm a parent,
and I had no idea about this stuff."
To be sure, one of the blogs created by
teenagers who hail from such New Jersey towns as Fair Lawn,
Midland Park and Bloomfield -- to name a few -- carries a
link to a place called "Pimps that Have Their Hos on
Chains."
At Los Angeles-based MySpace.com, which
describes itself as a "social networking lifestyle portal,"
growth is fast and furious, with 100,000 "members" a day
joining its legion of 18.5 million.
There, a spokeswoman issued a statement
saying the company -- owned by Intermix Media -- is
committed to Internet safety, recently partnering with
WiredSafety.org to form a team of monitors and develop a
tutorial for parents.
As for "Tiffany," she wraps up her bio in
cyberspace shorthand, saying: "k well if u wanna no nething
else about me, just MESSAGE ME and if I like you ill message
back ;) hehe."
Another 16-year-old girl has a laundry
list of "about me" items that includes such statements as,
"I get really loud and annoying when I'm drunk."
WELCOME WARNING
So far, the Glen Ridge letter -- mailed
to the parents of 1,200 students in third through 12th grade
some 10 days ago -- appears to be a welcome red
alert.
Julie Mason, for one, is gratified. "I
thought it was very proactive," she said.
She already limits the time her daughter
-- an 11-year-old entering sixth grade -- can be online and
has working parental blockers, she said. "I had her read the
letter," she said of her daughter.
Ken Rota, principal of Glen Ridge High
School, said the idea for the letter came last year when he
attended a Rutgers University conference on the perils of
Internet predators.
There, he heard from Andrew Donofrio, an
investigator with the computer crimes division of the Bergen
County Prosecutor's Office and a leading computer forensics
examiner who lectures on the subject throughout New
Jersey.
"They need to hold back what's out
there," he said of the personal information teenagers
typically post.
One New Jersey 13-year-old girl, he said,
was sexually victimized recently by a person who contacted
her through her Web page on myspace.com. He turned out to be
in his late 20s. "She invited him to her house," he
said.
Some online predators who claim to be in
their 20s turn out to be in their 40s, he said. "There is no
honesty on the Internet," Donofrio said.
It's a message brought back to Glen Ridge
parents and administrators and one that will be reiterated
on Aug. 31 to faculty on their first day back.
"After we saw what was out there and
experienced it ourselves, with the whole blog thing, it was
kind of overwhelming," Rota said. "This is a prime feeding
ground for Internet predators."
EASY TO TRACK
Winnie Boswell, as the school district's
director of technology, has scouted such online realms as
xanga.com, which bills itself as a "Weblog community," and
myspace.com, which has more page views than Google. "Very
easy. Just type in a few searches, and you can see kids you
know," she said.
The dangers are not unknown to Frank
Belluscio, executive director of the New Jersey School
Boards Association. Still, he said, he hasn't heard of such
a specifically worded warning letter being mailed to parents
before.
"And I think it's a good idea -- frankly
-- because I've seen, I've seen what goes on those Web
sites," he said. "I think it's very timely and very
appropriate. ... They (students) don't realize what the
potential is there."
So true, Boswell said. "A student places
such personal information, where they go to school, where
they go after school," she said.
In Wall Township, parents got an
eye-opener last year when an FBI agent told of the dangers
of posting pictures and personal information. "Some of the
kids are so naive," said Tina Gordon, Wall Township's
director of curriculum.
To show how easy it was, the agent was
able to track down one Wall Township student in 25 seconds,
she said. "His point was, 'They can't post their photos.
They can't post personal information.'"
If they do, a predator could make
contact. "Oh, I'm a friend of Alice. You know who I am"
could be the ploy, she said. "The next thing you know, you
have somebody snatched. The scenarios were pretty
grim."
The letter to Glen Ridge parents comes
with a list of advice, such as placing your personal
computer in a "public area" of the house and reviewing the
content and pictures on your child's journal.
A DARK SIDE
At myspace.com, the portal's slogan is "a
place for friends," yet its open-door policy makes for a
lengthy list of Internet precautions.
The Web site's page headed "safety tips"
says the Internet does have its "dark side," and users
shouldn't post personal information that will identify them
in real life. On the taboo list: real name, address, sports
team, health club. And this warning: "That cute 21-year-old
guy may not be cute, may not be 21, and may not be a
guy."
Yet some of the Glen Ridge bloggers
identify their favorite stores to shop, what school teams
they're on, and their ages, such as one girl who gave hers
as 14 -- a myspace.com no-no.
"If you're under 16, MySpace is not a
place for you," reads the Web site, finishing with this
sentence: "Go away."
Philip Read covers West Essex. He may be reached at
pread@starledger.com or (973) 392-1851.
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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