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

Lauren M. Squires lauren.squires at gmail.com
Mon Sep 17 06:57:05 PDT 2007


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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