Teen leaves US to meet a man from MySpace

[Swordlady]

Has anyone else read this news article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-06-09-jordan-myspace_x.htm

Apparently, the FBI tracked down this girl (she was in Jordan at that point) and persuaded her to come home before meeting this man she met on MySpace.

As one who has met over 50 people from the Internet in "real life" (even stayed over some of their houses), I shouldn't talk. But...in all of those cases, I had active correspondence with these people for months via posting on Net fora, email, IM, and phone. Everyone I met were participants on one of the church fora (not necessarily a "Christian" one; there is a difference, believe it or not) I used to participate in, or from SFI. It was in a far more controlled environment then...say, MySpace.

Regardless, *I* even think I need to be more careful about "hooking up" with people from the Internet.

Thoughts?

 

[terryl965]

yea I heard this on the radio this morning why would any parent get there 16 year old a passport without them going with them or have something from the school or organization that was taken them.
Terry

 

[stone_dragone]

WE discuss this at work everytime a story like this comes on the news (AFN News channel on 24-7 - FOX, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, and CNN). The common response and one that I espouse is "WATCH YOUR KID'S INTERNET USAGE!!!" It's called "parenting." There'd be less issues with more of it...

A son or daughter's "right to privacy" should not overshadow the parent's right to protect and raise them. Don't be overbearing, but be involved. Involved and informed parents go a long way to preventing such things (don't confuse "preventing" with "stopping", by the way).

As an adult, we need to be aware of our interactions on the 'net just like we do in person. As parents, we need to be aware of our interactions and our childrens'.

My two cents...

 

[Swordlady]

yea I heard this on the radio this morning why would any parent get there 16 year old a passport without them going with them or have something from the school or organization that was taken them.
Terry

Good question. There was obviously a lapse in the parents' attention, for allowing her to get a passport without any other information about where she was going.

I went to Australia when I was 17 years old with a bunch of schoolmates, and two nuns as chaparones. It was a school sponsored trip, and I needed a bunch of permission forms signed before I could go. This girl should've never left the country without some kind of permission slip from her school or other organization. She was lucky that the FBI found her before reaching her destination.

 

[michaeledward]

The daughter played her parents on the Passport. She told them she was going to spend two weeks in Canada with a friends family in order to get the passport. The parents were going to drop the girl off with the family on a recent morning. The family never showed up to pick her up. When the parents called the other family, they discovered the were no plans for a trip to Canada.

I have 'hooked up' with internet people in the past.

I met my wife in an online chatroom eleven, no, twelve years ago now. The difference being, I was thirty years old.

 

[matt.m]

Dude, through the 70's, 80's, really pretty much until I graduated H.S. in '92 my dad had to know my friends parents: where they lived, phone number etc.

I just find this kind of thing outrageous that these parents were not able to know about their daughter going to Jordan.

 

[Kreth]

The daughter played her parents on the Passport. She told them she was going to spend two weeks in Canada with a friends family in order to get the passport. The parents were going to drop the girl off with the family on a recent morning. The family never showed up to pick her up. When the parents called the other family, they discovered the were no plans for a trip to Canada.

Were this my child, I would have kept the passport at that point...

 

[tshadowchaser]

I hope the girl styed safe and no harm came to her but I think she needs a lesson on respect to her parents and a lesson on what can/could happen because of this idiotic thing she did

 

[Ceicei]

Were this my child, I would have kept the passport at that point...

I agree, and have the passport put into the safe locked up.

As to why she got away with this: The article indicates that they (her parents) have admitted this child has never been cause for trouble in the past. I would guess they had no issues with letting her keep the passport in her hands and probably initially thought the Canada trip was a misundertanding.

- Ceicei

 

[bluemtn]

A great deal of caution is definitely needed on that sort of thing. I don't think you should give any personal info out at all, if you meet someone from one, use common sense!

 

[dubljay]

I vote for a darwin award for both parents and child. *sigh*

 

[Dark]

The thing is most parents make the mistake of thinking of teenagers as children, in a sense they are but in another sense they are adult enough to take responsibility for their actions. Meaning if I were her dad, I'd have her lock in a hospital and evaluated, when the said she was sane I'd send her to one of those teen boot camps and in the mean time talk all her stuff away.

Then I'd slap myself for letting her do it...