The net. The Internet. The web. The tubes. The information super highway. Whatever you call it, it is a damn amazing, crazy & possibly dangerous place [if you can call the Internet a "place"]. Renae and I had a conversation last night about her friend that started freaking out on Facebook raving about Internet safety and that everyone should not put out any personal information about themselves [I swear I heard this back in the 90's regarding AOL & Yahoo! Groups]. Then today, the same person went and removed all of her posts on FB, so now she is just a lurker. To an extent she is correct. You shouldn’t just blast all of your personal information out on the net without thinking it through. There are lots of whack-jobs cruising the tubes. Most of them will want money from you before anything else.

But it does bring up certain questions, such as, how much information is too much? Or, what kind of danger does exposing your personal information on the Internet bring to you? Does your Internet openness expose your kids or family members to any actual danger?

I had to think about what dangers might be lurking on the inter-tubes and here is what I came up with:

1. You will get more email & snail mail Spam [both of these happen no matter what. It's impossible to stop either. Just deal with it].
2. Your actual identity could be stolen [but this can happen by throwing out your trash].
3. You might gain a admirer/stalker or two [this can happen by frequently going to the gym or from a co-worker].
4. An unwanted ex boyfriend/girlfriend or your baby’s momma/dadda might find you [I will let you fill in the blanks on how this can happen in real life].
5. Your work, parents, spouse or neighbors might find out about your Internet porn star fame [well if you want to be an Internet porn star, it would be better to not hide it though. Your ratings and your pay increases with the more people that know].
6. Your online gambling is maxing out your CC and your wife/husband doesn’t know [if this is the case, you have bigger problems with gambling and the Internet has made it easier. Seek help, please].

Overall the dangers of the Internet all come down to your particular online activities [kind of like your life activities can also expose you to danger].  Such as, if you join a social network like Facebook, Identi.ca, MySpace, Flickr, Twitter, FriendFeed or LinkedIn, then you are going to expose more of yourself to those that you classify as “friends” and everyone else on this planet. If you are going to be on the Internet using email, web forums or commenting on your local newspapers web site, you are still exposing yourself to anyone that wants to find you. Let’s not be fooled, there is no privacy on the Internet. No matter what you do on the net, you do not have anonymity [unless you are very technically savvy or you are a super spy].  I am sorry to scare you with the truth, but you have to know that the only way to be anonymous on the Internet is to never get on it. And if you are reading this blog, you are too late.

Where does that leave me and Renae? We have chosen to not just exist on the Internet, but to actually tell others about us and our children. Would this have happened 2 years ago? I would have to say no. But knowing the dangers of the Internet is half the battle [damn that sounded like a G.I. Joe quote]. And once you really look at the dangers of the Internet, you will see that they are the exact same dangers you face everyday as a member of our society. You never know if your neighbor, friend or a stranger will be that person that causes you harm.

So with that, I have said FUCK IT to trying to hide any more on the Internet. In the last 2 years I have become more personally exposed than I have in the last 16 years. Now, I DO NOT think kids should be dulling out their personal information [they are kids gosh damn it].  But, I personally don’t feel my online actions have opened me, my wife or my children to any more danger then we could have while going out to dinner. In today’s world, to fear the Internet is to fear life.  The Internet is not going away. As a parent in this Internet driven world, you have to be aware of the dangers and be able to tell your kids of those dangers. If  you are unaware of the dangers around you [in life & online], then you better start talking to people and not hiding in your closet praying the scary people will not find you.

- Ken

1. Saurooon Says:
   May 23rd, 2009 at 5:21 am

   Hi there,
   Amazing! Not clear for me, how offen you updating your http://www.parentingiseasy.com.
   Saurooon

2. Renae Says:
   May 26th, 2009 at 8:57 pm

   We plan on posting every other day, at minimum. Hope you’re enjoying. Comments are encouraged & welcome! Thanks for visiting!