I don't agree at all. How much time was required for a peep show -- maybe an hour?
It's not uncommon for computer geek kids to spend hours in front of their machine. Even in my day some kids spent hours after school at the computer center. And kids did "p*rn" that parents didn't know about, even if it merely naked or risque pictures done on a line printer. I doubt mothers would be pleased if they knew.
Instant-Messaging is very popular among ALL kids today, as it the Internet over all.
The article discussed this. The father was absent, then disappeared. Later on the father returned and got involved with the kid's activities. The father also severely physically abused the boy when he was younger and that may have played a role; kids who are abused are more likely to get into this kind of behavior when they're older. Clearly the father deserves much of the blame.
The mother, a single mom trying to earn money to support her family, thought it was good her son was involved with computers. Better than being out on the streets.
When I was in high school kids spent a lot of time on the computer (Teletypes in those days). Parents had no idea what they were doing. They were more concerned about coming home late on night from being out on the streets rather than _why_ they was coming home late. Some kids I knew in school were pioneer hackers via the Teletype.
Yes and no. Once the kid enters junior high, the parents must accept that their child now must have some independence. They can't watch over the kid as they did when he was younger. It's not healthy for a kid to be supervised so closely; they need some space to learn how to make their own decisions and grow up. This distancing continues in high school.
These days it's extremely difficult for a parent to monitor what their kid is doing on a computer. The very nature of an all-purpose digital computer and the Internet makes it hard. Virtually no parent is a systems programmer with the skills to put on filters and monitors (the way employers do), and none of that stuff is foolproof anyway.
BTW, there were boys who got National Geographic subscription as a present, and promptly disappear into their bedrooms with it. Were their parents or the gift-giver aware of the naked pictures the N/G had in those days that boys enjoyed? Plenty of boys had Playboy hidden in their rooms, did their parents know? Jeez, even in my day stuff went down at co-ed parties for 13 y/o's that parents wouldn't be pleased to know about. Don't be so quick to blame the parents.
This is totally different than Columbine. This kid was involved in software and primarily victimizing _himself_ not a whole school. AFAIK, he did NOT bring his friends (he was a loner) into his room and get them to perform for the webcam, so there was no parade of strange people for his parents to see. He was not stocking large physical items. Software takes up very little room. There's a heck of a big difference coming home with a trailing stream of computer printout and a high powered rifle and strange friends. (Plus I think there's a lot of about Columbine we don't know about.)
Wrong. It is about _computers_, plain and simple. The whole invention of the modern computer was for it to be a _general purpose_ device. Earlier machines and even computers were designed for specifics like calculations, cataloging, business document preparation (paychecks, bills, etc), or communications. Mixing all these functions together was the ultimate goal and now we have it.
Today's computer lets people put together a lot of different functions that greatly magnifies its power. Kids always had cameras, and theorectically a kid could've taken nude shots of himself and sold them, but it would've been very cumbersome to find buyers and complete the transaction. Electronic networks and modern software -- like credit card services and PayPal -- make it very easy. As the article mentioned, perverts love the Internet.
Remember how the kid started -- he put up a single picture, requests for just a little bit more came in, and so forth. The anonymity of the computer made it so easy for it to happen. I strongly doubt this kid would've willingly posed in person for such pictures and taken direct cash, but the webcam and Internet changed all that.
At some point in the history of the automobile it was recognized that autos had to be registered as did the drivers. Drivers had to take a test, autos had to meet standards. Laws were passed regulating their use.
To put it another way, the law doesn't let 13 y/o kids drive cars or drink alcohol or buy cigarettes, but the law lets them do anything they please with a computer or network. Indeed, many people claim cigarette ads encourage kids to smoke by creating a desirable mystique. Maybe the computer world is creating too much of a mystique for kids in a simialr manner. Teenagers like adventure and often don't understand the real risks of their activities. Computers located in the safety of their bedroom seem very safe, but we know that is not true.
All of the adults who particpated in this enterprise were breaking very serious laws. But the anonymity of today's computers makes it hard to catch and prosecute them. The credit card payments apparently get filtered through multiple layers making them difficult or impossible to trace. Remember the kid was paid through gifts made to on-line retailers, which helped keep the transactions at an arms length.
I frankly don't know what the answer is. But I take great offense if the technology community washes it hands of any responsibility for things like this. It's just like the automobile industry refusing to put in safety features during the 1950s when it was clear they were needed. In other threads we talked about the massive frauds and abuse that the Internet has created.
I might point out that in the 1960s many people used dial telephones to harass other people. This wasn't the telephone company's "fault", but the phone co none the less had to work out solutions to curb the abuse.