The number of kids in cyberspace will continue to grow, and with it, the sort of often-juvenile, boundary-testing communications once limited to notes passed between students in class.
Predictor: Bennahum, David S.
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for Harpers Bazar, David Bennahum writes about teens’ discussions of sex and other mature themes on the Internet: ”The combination of adolescence and daring is hardly new, of course. But with the explosion of activity on the Internet and commercial online services such as America Online and Prodigy, the number of kids in cyberspace will continue to grow, and with it, the sort of often-juvenile, boundary-testing communications once limited to notes passed between students in class … According to Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the number of on-line meetings between underage individuals and adults leading to physical contact remains small, perhaps a dozen a year. Still, to help parents minimize the risk, the center publishes a pamphlet called ‘Child Safety on the Information Highway.’ Its basic recommendation: Parents should keep track of what their children are doing. ‘Our feeling is, this is a commonsense issue,’ Allen says. Commonsense, maybe, but not common knowledge. In truth, the Internet has largely left parents behind. ‘My folks had no idea that when they authorized opening up all boards and access to me, they were also opening up all the sex areas,’ Francesca says. ‘They were too busy to read the warnings.'”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Harper's Bazaar
Title, headline, chapter name: Lolitas Online
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://memex.org/lolitas.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: McAlister, Rory