# Bebo invitation.



## WaterWater (19 Sep 2006)

Has anyone else received an email from a Michelle Megaw via Bebo to connect as a friend or am I just special?


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## roxy (19 Sep 2006)

Just decline it, I often get these but never accept from someone you don't know.


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## DrMoriarty (19 Sep 2006)

of people complaining about this...

Moved to _Shooting The Breeze_.


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## Guest109 (20 Sep 2006)

it got a lot of bad press  some time ago


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## Gordanus (21 Sep 2006)

I've got one.....a Bebo account.  It's how I monitor what the kids are up to on it.


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## liteweight (22 Sep 2006)

Gordanus said:


> I've got one.....a Bebo account.  It's how I monitor what the kids are up to on it.



Not a bad idea. Saw on the news the other night that Bebo is in the line of fire again. A reporter joined claiming to be young etc. etc. and had a number of posts from known paedophiles!  Unfortunately I wasn't able to look at the whole report but the bit I saw was pretty damning.


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## fobs (22 Sep 2006)

THats why parents should't let kids have computers in their bedrooms unsupervised. Best to have the PC in the family room. My babysitter logged onto bebo and myspace one night when we were out and we hadn't given her permission so asked her not to use the PC again as there would be no one supervising her.


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## Eeek!!!! (22 Sep 2006)

fobs said:


> ...so asked her not to use the PC again as there would be no one supervising her.


 
If you don't trust her to use the PC, why would you trust her with your children?


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## roxy (22 Sep 2006)

A couple of weeks ago my younger cousins were taking about bebo, they are only 8 & 9, and I said I thought you have to be 13 to go on, and they replied with 'I'm 13 when I'm on bebo!' Very scary to think how young they are on there, I've told my aunt who has since banned them. When I told them I had a bebo, they replied with 'Yeah, we heard that old people have bebos too!' I'm 23!


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## DrMoriarty (22 Sep 2006)

Apart altogether from the (more crucial) issue of children's safety online, I'm guessing a lot of parents might have a problem with the amount of _time_ their kids spend on Bebo. I certainly did, and I've had to install software to time-limit my kids' internet access, until they can control the 'addiction'. You can imagine what this has done for me in the popularity stakes, but it was getting completely out of hand — from the 17-year-old to the 8-year-old. It had become practically the _only_ thing they used the computer for...

Have a look at these graphs on Google Trends (Limerick ahead of Dublin and Cork!  ):
[broken link removed]
[broken link removed]

It's no wonder all the universities — and schools — had to  from their student PCs (not that that did a damn bit of good, of course: www.unblockthis.com)  I'm not normally for censorship, but...

_[Edit: more discussion __here__.]_

I also use Gordanus' method, btw.


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## Capaill (22 Sep 2006)

Those of you concerned on child safety on the internet should look at the following resources

Internet Advisory Board (www.iab.ie) have published a booklet for parents called "Get with IT" and is available at [broken link removed].  It is quite good and includes a useful list of resources at the end.  

There is also the Webwise site, www.webwise.ie, which has a good range of resources, such as a 20 minute video available at  and also information on social networking sites at [broken link removed]

If you need to report suspect child pornography material use www.hotline.ie

Other useful resources
http://www.kidsafe.com
http://www.kidsafe.com/ebooks/Internet safety Report.pdf
http://www.tuki.com/ - child friendly browser [broken link removed]

http://www.isafe.org/


C


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## fobs (22 Sep 2006)

> If you don't trust her to use the PC, why would you trust her with your children?


 
I do trust her to *mind my kids* but as I think it should be up to a parent to decide what PC access a child gets it is my decision to restrict her PC use.


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