When Our Children Value Things More Than Life

a reply to: cavtrooper7
They have been very successful in creating a massive number of Epsilons, as it is indeed a part of the grand plan.

We start our lives, ingesting bottles filled with formulas teaming with chemicals, in place of the breast and weaned to electronic devices, in place of the heart.

a reply to: daskakik
At 17 they are still very much children. At 17 they have not reached maturity or legal age.

Legal age is 18, but maturity isn't automatically obtained because one reaches a certain age.

I have seen 16 year olds that seemed more mature than some 20 year olds, but having an old soul doesn't mean that a child is not still a child.

I do not know the young girl, so I can't tell you what was going on in her home or her mind, but I have seen enough young people like her, that have a distorted idea of life and have no realistic view of their future.

I don't blame them. We can't expect much more, when the only world they know is the one that they are holding in their hands.

a reply to: Doxanoxa

Made me think its the people who make money out of the apps and services - just like drug dealers arms traders, or sugar laden processed food makers - who need to be controlled. Quite simply, any service not publishing clear instructions on how to block it if required should be illegal, with heavy penalty, and outlawed internationally. You may think this reactionary. Perhaps it is. All the same, a virtual life isn't a real life.

Unfortunately, just like drug dealers and arms dealers, young people will find a work around. Most have already worked a hack against any locks their parents have put on their systems, and definitely they know how to jailbreak the systems the schools put up.

I got called out last night on a case, by the time I got to the hospital, another police department had arrived with another victim. Less than 30 minutes later, I got a call from the first police department, letting me know they were bringing in another victim, and about an hour later I received another call. Four victims in a little more than 2 hours.

Guess how many of the four cases had the internet involved in some way, either through a dating app or a social media app?

I bet you said all four, and you are right. The internet is a dangerous playground. I can't tell anyone how to raise their children. I can only tell you what I see and what I work with on a regular basis. I can just sound the alarm, in hopes that people will take note and protect their children so they don't end up on one of my stretchers.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

Only to bolster your argument.

I've seen immature middle aged people. That doesn't make them children.

originally posted by: daskakik
a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

Only to bolster your argument.



I've seen immature middle aged people. That doesn't make them children.

Agreed.

Immaturity in some cases can make a person seem childlike, because they are expressing behavior that is normal and expected in a child.

In some cases it might not be a bad thing, and may even be funny, but in some cases a child's natural and expected immaturity can lead them into the path of a freight train, the results can be traumatic or deadly.

The level of what is considered normal or standard levels of maturity in young people has changed dramatically over the years.

My mom was expected to do odd chores and babysit when she was 8 years old. When I was eight I was expected to fix breakfast for my siblings before school and to start dinner for my mom when I got home from school. She would take over after she got home. My brothers when they were 8 years old they were cutting grass and taking care of the chickens.

Today we don't even expect this level of maturity from 16 year olds.

Times have changed and what we expect from young people has changed. We are making them weak, overly dependent, and setting them up as lambs for the slaughter.

boy am i glad i was at school before the internet and mobile phones. we actually had actual real world lives.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

Who is we?

There have always been kids who must take on household responsibilities and those who live where the hired help handles the day to day tasks.

So, life is getting easier, isn't that one of the goals of humanity?

Lambs for what slaughter?

originally posted by: daskakik
a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

Who is we?

There have always been kids who must take on household responsibilities and those who live where the hired help handles the day to day tasks.

So, life is getting easier, isn't that one of the goals of humanity?

Lambs for what slaughter?

In some areas and some homes children are still are expected to participate in household responsibilities, but they are not the majority.

We live in a world that can be hostile and predatory to the young, the immature, and the vulnerable. Unfortunately if you talk to the average young person, and I do when I go to the schools, they are convinced that they are exempt from harm.

The level of grifting and the amount of time and sophistication that some of these predators put into the game is mind boggling. They have been able to con parents that were aware of the dangers and thought they were doing everything right, they just didn't know how skillful some predators can be. For some it is a game and your children are the prize.

As far as the we, I am speaking in generalities, and none of this may pertain to you or yours, but there are many out there that it does pertain to. Those are the people I am talking to.

I would offer a simple test for those that have young children. Just as a test. Try to take away your child's cell phone for a week. In most homes this will create a discord in the home from mild to a total nuclear breakdown.

I am willing to bet that most will end up giving them back the phones in less than 24 hours just to keep the peace.

I am not against cell phones when they are seen as a useful tool, I do have a problem when that useful tool is becoming more addictive then heroin, is used as a device for tracking and locating children, and a tool for setting children up for harm.

originally posted by: NightSkyeB4Dawn
In some areas and some homes children are still are expected to participate in household responsibilities, but they are not the majority.

Like I said things are better. In earlier times teens were working in factories and raising familes.

We live in a world that can be hostile and predatory to the young, the immature, and the vulnerable. Unfortunately if you talk to the average young person, and I do when I go to the schools, they are convinced that they are exempt from harm.

Hasn't that always been the case?

The level of grifting and the amount of time and sophistication that some of these predators put into the game is mind boggling. They have been able to con parents that were aware of the dangers and thought they were doing everything right, they just didn't know how skillful some predators can be. For some it is a game and your children are the prize.

Like the GI Bill?

As far as the we, I am speaking in generalities, and none of this may pertain to you or yours, but there are many out there that it does pertain to. Those are the people I am talking to.

I would offer a simple test for those that have young children. Just as a test. Try to take away your child's cell phone for a week. In most homes this will create a discord in the home from mild to a total nuclear breakdown.

I am willing to bet that most will end up giving them back the phones in less than 24 hours just to keep the peace.

I am not against cell phones when they are seen as a useful tool, I do have a problem when that useful tool is becoming more addictive then heroin, is used as a device for tracking and locating children, and a tool for setting children up for harm.

Used to be the gaming console/computer, before that the gameboy/ipod, before that the discman, before that the walkman, before that TV, before that radio.

What I think is really going on is that children are learning at a younger age that they have rights they can demand, although they also overlook their responsibilities out of convenience.

Government wants a dumb population because they are easier to control. Parents want smart children and you reap what you sow.

a reply to: daskakik
I wish I could just brush this off as being that simple, but when I am the one receiving the children that have fallen victim to a predator, I can't be as cavalier about what is happening in our society today.

There are criminals who offend against minors utilizing the internet, computers and other electronic devices to facilitate wrongful acts. They are using cyberspace to find victims, traffic contraband images, and are able to hide who they are. They could be anyone.

You are not alone is being dismissive about these issues. Many feel that there is no real problem. I find it to be otherwise, but I am not trying to convince you of anything. I can only share what I know to be the true, in hopes of saving at least one child from becoming another victim.

originally posted by: NightSkyeB4Dawn
I wish I could just brush this off as being that simple, but when I am the one receiving the children that have fallen victim to a predator, I can't be as cavalier about what is happening in our society today.

That is on you.

There are criminals who offend against minors utilizing the internet, computers and other electronic devices to facilitate wrongful acts. They are using cyberspace to find victims, traffic contraband images, and are able to hide who they are. They could be anyone.

These things happened before the internet.

You are not alone is being dismissive about these issues. Many feel that there is no real problem. I find it to be otherwise, but I am not trying to convince you of anything. I can only share what I know to be the true, in hopes of saving at least one child from becoming another victim.

Good luck.

Before cellphones, kids used to chat by telephone. Parents would complain their teenage girls were never off the telephone. Phone companies advertised the advantages of having a second telephone line. But those were 1:1 connections with people they knew. Before that they were running to and from each others homes. Mothers would despair because they didn't know where someone had gone, because they had left the school bus with their friends. That would lead to desperate calls to the school, bus company/driver and other parents. Communication with the community was with corkboard notices at the supermarket or church.

All this social media was really meant for university students to keep in touch when on and off campus; keep in touch with friends, know when events were happening. Nothing more painful of only finding about a party or conference three days after it had happened. USENET had the concept of hierarchical groups or domains so that access to a particular group could be restricted to the university network, the city or guest domains. Maybe we need to do that with social media.

a reply to: stormcell
We need to come up with something. Before the internet we didn't have sexual exploitation technology facilitated crimes against children.

There have always been intrinsic dangers involved in the process of growing up. There were cases of abuse, kidnapping, and missing children, but never to the degree that there is now.

There are tens of thousands of registered sex offenders in just America alone, and they are flying beneath the radar. Parents don't let their children play in a busy street because they know the danger that exist. Much of the problems is that parents don't recognize the danger and deal with it inadequately.

originally posted by: NightSkyeB4Dawn
We need to come up with something. Before the internet we didn't have sexual exploitation technology facilitated crimes against children.

Sure there was.

There have always been intrinsic dangers involved in the process of growing up. There were cases of abuse, kidnapping, and missing children, but never to the degree that there is now.

I bet you can't really back that up with stats?

There are tens of thousands of registered sex offenders in just America alone, and they are flying beneath the radar.

If they are registered they are not beneath the radar.

Parents don't let their children play in a busy street because they know the danger that exist.

When I was a kid we played on the train tracks. We didn't ask permission. That would have been counter productive.

Much of the problems is that parents don't recognize the danger and deal with it inadequately.

The problem I see is that people want to be surrogate moms. Sorry, that is what it looks like when you want to take on the worries of other parents.

originally posted by: stormcell
Phone companies advertised the advantages of having a second telephone line. But those were 1:1 connections with people they knew.

I think your forgot about group/chat lines which were fairly popular before the internet really took off.

a reply to: stormcell

You are leaving quite a gap between landlines and cell phones.

IRC/chat rooms were the thing in the mid 90's. Not to make anyone feel old but that was 20 years ago.

a reply to: daskakik
Your responses look like you are just looking for a fight. You made it obvious that you don't agree with my posts or anything I have shared. I am okay with that.

I made it clear why I posted this information.

If you find disfavor with anything else I post, understand it is not directed at you. I hope some may find it beneficial, if not, they are free to dismiss it just as you have done. I am not here to fight, just to share my experiences. I accept that you don't find the information useful. Perhaps there are those that do.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

And I hope that my posts keep people from experiencing undue anxiety.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

That is really scary and so sad.

I just saw this thread and am late arriving and haven't read all the pages yet... but this reminded me of a girl who got bullied online and killed herself. It turned out it was the neighbors. That poor girl was so consumed about online stuff that she decided to end her life because of it. And she's not the first or last one to do that, clearly.

I don't know if what we can do to prevent these things from happening (how do we navigate those waters) is being made really clear. But for one, I think spending more time with family/each other, and not devices is important. We learn that we can survive an hour or three without our devices when we put them aside to spend time doing activities with one another. And I'm not sorry if what I'm saying is super obvious and repetitive.

Thank you for sharing your story here.

I always look forward to your contributions.

a reply to: daskakik

According to this site: www.wearethorn.org... the United States is the number one producer and distributor of child pornography in the world. It is also a billion dollar industry, thanks to the internet, by and large. And I was informed that one child victim racks in up to 90,000 dollars per year. If I remember correctly, that site states that it is estimated that over 2 billion CP files (videos, photos, etc) are uploaded DAILY.

I love the internet but it's a double edged sword. UNDUE ANXIETY? It's a fugging epidemic.

That site has lots of stats on it... but I guess they could just be making it up? I guess you can make that call... but whatever the case, I think even the question of whether or not this is as big as it seems is something we should all be anxious af about.