Some activists on the teen grid are protesting at the lack of access to PG areas on the main grid. On the 6th of May a march has been organised to raise awareness on the issue.
Like any proposal to increase interaction between children / teens and adults, there are some significant benefits and downsides. The first problem that occurred to me with such a proposal is the potential grooming or related scenarios that could occur. It’s an extreme example to use but like any online medium it is a risk. Any integration would need to involve a heightened level of monitoring of interactions without destroying the spontaneity of Second Life. That said, young people should have access to the superb educational resources on the main grid and should feel safe in the process. Achieving the latter without the former is a big ask indeed.
Is integration achievable? We’d like to know your thoughts.
Acknowledgement – the idea for this story came from an article run by SL Insider
As an active member of the Teen Grid, and a full supporter of the Unification, I believe this is within Second Life’s grasp.
The problem of grooming has been brought up countless many times since the idea was first proposed.
Here’s an excerpt from an E-mail:
“As a small, yet fun test, I created a ‘PG and Profanity’ filter for local
chat. The filter would pick up certain words when they were said, such as
profane words, or sexually explicit words. Within just a few days, my
filter had picked up hundreds of violations, and with each, spewed out a
simple ‘Don’t use profanity’ or ‘You are in a PG-sim. Don’t use sexually
explicit themes’, et cetera.
My point being that the Teen Grid is far from ‘dandy’. In fact, I believe
Teens are at a much higher risk on the Teen Grid then if the teens were
able to venture to the Main Grid.
An adult, a pedophile – for the sake of arguments, lets make this person a
male. This adult decides he wants to ‘attack some teens’, so he makes a
Teen Grid account. Fact – Teens are more likely to have open contact with
their peers. The adult would be most quickly accepted as ‘part of the
group’ under a Teen alias then had the adult tried to same thing on the
Main Grid if teens were present there. The teens would most likely
instantly report a ‘freaky old guy hitting on’ them then ‘a possibly cute
boy from So-Cal’.
While it may seem Teens will be at a higher risk on the Main Grid, it is
in fact the opposite. Teens don’t have any walls up, they’re vulnerable on
the Teen Grid; Teens are still at a stage where they may trust their peers
pretty easily.”
Thanks,
Alex Harbinger
[http://www.alexharbinger.com for the full Proposal]
As an active member of the Teen Grid, and a full supporter of the Unification, I believe this is within Second Life’s grasp.
The problem of grooming has been brought up countless many times since the idea was first proposed.
Here’s an excerpt from an E-mail:
“As a small, yet fun test, I created a ‘PG and Profanity’ filter for local
chat. The filter would pick up certain words when they were said, such as
profane words, or sexually explicit words. Within just a few days, my
filter had picked up hundreds of violations, and with each, spewed out a
simple ‘Don’t use profanity’ or ‘You are in a PG-sim. Don’t use sexually
explicit themes’, et cetera.
My point being that the Teen Grid is far from ‘dandy’. In fact, I believe
Teens are at a much higher risk on the Teen Grid then if the teens were
able to venture to the Main Grid.
An adult, a pedophile – for the sake of arguments, lets make this person a
male. This adult decides he wants to ‘attack some teens’, so he makes a
Teen Grid account. Fact – Teens are more likely to have open contact with
their peers. The adult would be most quickly accepted as ‘part of the
group’ under a Teen alias then had the adult tried to same thing on the
Main Grid if teens were present there. The teens would most likely
instantly report a ‘freaky old guy hitting on’ them then ‘a possibly cute
boy from So-Cal’.
While it may seem Teens will be at a higher risk on the Main Grid, it is
in fact the opposite. Teens don’t have any walls up, they’re vulnerable on
the Teen Grid; Teens are still at a stage where they may trust their peers
pretty easily.”
Thanks,
Alex Harbinger
[http://www.alexharbinger.com for the full Proposal]