DISQUS

Anonymous Twitter User · 8 months ago

A client of mine who runs an adult blog has a Twitter account. We've had to block various real kids (and lots of fundie Christians, hilariously) who use scripts to autofollow thousands to get thousands of followers in return.

Twitter simply doesn't have the child-protection controls yet to allow your kids to have accounts. Don't let them on.

Good post, Redhead.

Matt Dibble · 8 months ago

I watched this entire interaction on twitter with little Johnny and I thought immediately... "this is some asshole using his kid's or a relative's likeness for pub."
And even if it isn't, it's the same premise, gaining notoriety by using the likeness of a kid... not for accomplishing a single damn thing.
It's weak in either instance.

And I blame crap-hole reporting outlets like GMA who will do a special on some dweeb b/c he's 14 and starting his own business. Who cares? We should be reprimanding the kid for not taking the time to have fun as a child... not for giving in to the pressures of the rat race at an age that's 66% of what normal people do. Although in truth, I guess he'll digress backwards into childhood once the drug addiction starts b/c of all the attention he received at such a young age. The universe rights itself in that way.

Emily Of Texas · 8 months ago

The thing of it is, parents have Parental Controls, i.e. "No." I can't believe that some other raving red-head has had to take on the responsibility of protecting other people's kids from herself. The very idea is ridiculous. I do however, appreciate her efforts. On the off chance that my daughter would stumble upon some one like you (or me) on the internet, I'm surely glad that you are looking out for her.
My child understands that there are 'adult conversations' and 'kid-friendly conversations'. The adult ones are not her business.
More on parental controls- if I find something really funny on twitter and laugh out loud she'll ask me what I'm laughing at- I'll either show her, or tell her its for grown-ups. That's it. Its so f****** easy ( I can say that here, right?)
There are a lot of things that are difficult to protect my child from. Speeding cars, overly sexually mature children, pregnant teenagers, grief, disappointment.
It's damn easy to protect her from twitter, so of course I do.

Teacher from Illinois · 8 months ago

So let me get this straight. We need to protect kids from something useful and fun because of vulgarity (really, really serious vulgarity). Should we tell kids not to go see the latest Pixar movie because a R rated movie about a chainsaw juggling clown is showing in the next theater? Kids will get on Twitter - keeping them away from vulgar tweets isn't protecting them from anything.

The dangers you present are more of an indication for the need to teach digital literacy. The answer simply is not to just police kids away from the Internet, but to teach them how to use it. My little sister had her full legal name on myspace and her picture and all sorts of other information (name, address, phone number) - I almost had a heart attack. The answer is not to tell her not to use myspace, it's to teach her how to use it and that is a parent's job. We aren't cops, we're teachers.

The Redhead · 8 months ago

@ Teacher from Illinois - since you said on Twitter that my "comments are as ridiculous as they are irrelevant," I'll chime-in with yet another irrelevant thought. Keep teachin' man. It's folks like you that have to pick up where lackadaisical parents leave off. Especially since there's an alarmingly large number of parents who see teachers as babysitters, you carry a pretty heavy burden.

And of course - kids are going to get everywhere. You tell them no, it makes them even more curious. The intent of the post is to alert parents as to WHY they might not want their kids on Twitter. Twitter is NOT useful for kids. If you want to teach kids about social media, the importance of brand presence, the ability to reach a diverse network through virtual means - show them LinkedIn. No parental controls needed and it's about as professional as you can get. But if you want to keep blasting someone like me for having a thought about what parents let their kids get into, sure. Go ahead. I'm sure there's worse shit that gets chirped about in the Teacher's Lounge at your school. God forbid, I'm one of those kids who viewed my teachers as mentors, got a full-ride college scholarship and have gone on to a career I love.

Fuckin' crazy.

The Redhead · 8 months ago

And just so my readers know - the purported 13 y.o. posted a comment to this blog saying something like his mommy was upset.

I'll stand by my policy that no known minors will have their comments posted here. It's for HIS safety, especially since the kid used his real name and photo, along with a trackable ISP address.

So I'm NOT just a blogger with an opinion - I actually DO care. Go figure. (Oh, and it's also the reason I BLOCKED that user's account on Twitter. If it really is a kiddo, he doesn't need to see anything I tweet.)

Canageek · 8 months ago

The existence of things like oh @twittilate and @GoodVibesSF and people like @Tatty @Furrygirl @Violetblue @badbadgirlx @BoardofControl and @EssinEm should be enough to keep your kids off of twitter. I follow some of these, there the type of content I like to see on twitter, but NOT FOR KIDS. I mean, even me, who rarely swears IRL, will, after a friend phones me in tears will let lose a few F***s or in a #tfe (TwitterFictionEvent) will swear in character/in response to the situation!

I think twitter if fine once you hit high school, as honestly? There is little on the net you can't find in your average high school if you look hard enough. Younger then that? No thank you please.

Jeremy · 8 months ago

Webkinz and Lego.com are the only things I let my kids on... they hear enough damn shit and hell from their Dad... they don't need to hear it, or worse (however funny IMO) from a crazy redhead!

Parents allowing their children free reign of the internet is irresponsible at best, and borderline endangerment.

Mike Roe · 8 months ago

I don't have kids. And, except for one really weird hour a while back, I don't want kids. I don't dislike them. In fact, someday (sooner rather than later, most likely), I hope they'll come and visit me at the nursing home (bring cigarettes, kid. If you do, I'll tell you about the time Steve Martin called my copy "amateurish." Who's Steve Martin? What's copy? "Grandpa bought a rubber?" Forget it. Thanks for the smokes. Now, get out of here.).

With that said, my philosophy?

Kill 'em all, and let Red sort 'em out. Douchebag marketers, that is.

Twittilate · 8 months ago

Though it's mostly just suggestive and not porn, my erotica is not suitable for kids or safe for work. Twitter should provide an opportunity for users to flag their own content as adult. Flagged streams could be kept out of the public timeline.

Love Twittilate xxx

joel hersh · 7 months ago

to be quite frank, if my kids were 15 or 16, i would encourage them to read your material. it's honest. as for the words, george carlin said it better than i can. your stuff is about the real world and the assholes one encounters on a daily basis. but what do i know, i took my kids to see the "wall" when they were twelvish---joel