[Air-L] Adults on Club Penguin/ethics of posing as kids

[Lois Ann Scheidt]

Lauren, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if their "date" was also 
an adult posing as a kid.  It's an issue of like attracting like...most 
12 year olds have pretty clear vocabulary and interest limits that 
don't vib with the average adult.  I always wonder on those DateLine 
predator installments how many of the guys would have actually found 
kids...or if they were actually attracted to the "kid" in question 
because the kid wasn't a kid.  An intellectual question only.

Lois Ann Scheidt

Doctoral Student - School of Library and Information Science, Indiana
University, Bloomington IN USA

Adjunct Instructor - School of Informatics, IUPUI, Indianapolis IN USA and
IUPUC, Columbus IN USA

Webpage:  http://www.loisscheidt.com
Blog:  http://www.professional-lurker.com


Quoting "Lauren M. Squires" <lauren.squires at gmail.com>:

> I haven't been following the recent ethics discussion on the list too
> closely, but I know that part of that discussion is "academics" v.
> "journalists" or other kinds of cultural analysts and the
> responsibilities/standards they hold themselves to.  So it was that
> this article in Slate kind of threw my jaw open:
>
> http://www.slate.com/id/2173910/pagenum/all
>
> it starts out...
> "I'm not sure, but I think I went on date with a 12-year-old last
> night. We met at Club Penguin, a social networking site for preteens.
> I was a blue penguin, new to town. She was pink, and carrying a
> surfboard."
>
> A reporter posing as a 12-year-old in an online environment
> specifically for kids? And then talking about one of the experiences
> as a "date"? This is really interesting given that so often reporters
> are telling us that adults are always trolling for kids online and
> it's SCARY. The reporter even writes:
>
> "Creating a penguin is simple, though the entire sign-up process
> emphasizes safety in such a way that a curious adult can't help
> feeling like a predator."
>
> Great to know about the safety measures, but red flag for me about the
> process of getting the article. I understand that adults want to
> understand what kids are doing online, and I appreciate this attempt
> at getting into the culture rather than assuming things about it based
> on non-participant experiences, but why not interview some of the
> 12-year-olds instead?
>
> thoughts?,
> Lauren
>
> --
> lauren m. squires
>  lx: http://polyglotconspiracy.net
>  cmc: http://sociocmc.blogspot.com
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