Teacher to parents: Be wary of teen blogs

Earlier this spring a teacher in San Francisco noticed her students were blogging in school. Besides reminding them it was against school policy and monitoring their online activities, she decided to look into what made it so hard for them to stop. "I must admit, I myself didn't see the danger in these sites early on," Christina wrote me. "The kids actually told me about them awhile back.... At this age, these students are looking for any possible available outlet to express themselves. I just figured they have discovered yet another. Well, they certainly had. When I followed some of the history links from the computers that were being used, I was stunned at the content of these online journals.... They are uploading their pictures, lying about their ages, yet posting the school they attend, their birthdate, what they do after school, places they hang out, discuss their sexuality.... I immediately sent a letter home to parents informing them of the use of these Web sites, explaining what 'blogging' means, and telling them that not only has this occurred during school time, but many postings occur late into the evening and early morning hours." I asked her if she minded if I shared her concerns with readers. "Sure," Christina replied, "any way my email might be of help in exposing this situation, please go ahead." Thus this week's feature. She said a lot more that parents might find useful, so please read on! Also feel free to post your view on or experience with teen bloggers below (or email me anytime).