Minors on the Internet

I'm MSNing with a young girl right now. She is 11-years-old, and I met her while doing minstry. (Let's call her "Kerrie.") Anyway, Kerrie just told me that she got a Facebook® account recently. Obviously, she lied in the initial form to get the account since the terms of agreement require users to be at least 13-years-old. She even told me that her mom was okay with it.

As it is, I already have some young "friends" on the internet who post things they really should not post. Gals have photos of themselves in seductive poses or clothing (or lack of clothing). They write vulgar things. They have photos of themselves drinking or around others who are drinking. And they join "groups" that they should not join. This is all so unwise.

While chatting with Kerrie on MSN, I knew that I could not convince her to close her Facebook® account, so I'm warning her to be very careful about what she posts. The truth of the matter is that unwise things that she puts on the internet or allows others to put on the internet can come back to haunt her.

The best case scenario is that nothing will happen.

But what happens when Kerrie is applying for university and somehow that photo of herself dressing provocatively has gone beyond her Facebook® account and is now made public on the internet? Someone might see it and decide that Kerrie should not be accepted into the university of her choice.

Or what happens when Kerrie applying for a job and a potential employer sees something that might make him/her question Kerrie's chracter or lifestyle?

Or what if some creepy person sees something about her and decides that Kerrie is now the object of his bizarre fantasies? (And even if this creepy person saw her, but decided otherwise, it would still be creepy.)

Or what if a "Facebook® friend" tells others that Kerrie joined a group centered around hating another person (i.e. a teacher)?

It worries me that people post as much as they do on the internet... Facebook®, blogs, comments on others' pages, My Space®, etc. If you know people who are posting things that are not so good, please warn them. There are two rules I try to follow... (1) don't post anything that is or can appear to be improper, and (2) don't post anything too personal about myself or about others.

And just to let you know... your Facebook® account (or other seemingly "private" accounts) is not only accessible to your friends. They are easily hacked into by people who know how to do it. That's how employers look at what potential employees have online. Therefore, if legitimate people like that do it, imagine who else does it.