May 19, 2005 Auntly challenge #9035: You discover that your 13 year old niece has a blog, on which she lies about her age, lists way too much personal information, and proclaims that she's a sexy beast... What do you do?
Me, I did want any loving, protective aunt would do, had a mental breakdown and then ran around in a fit of hysteria, swearing to superglue my niece's legs together and lock her in a convent until she's 45.
Once I calmed down, I realized that she's just a normal 13 year old girl. How I missed that, I don't know, since I was the exact same way when I was 13, but worse. She's normal and healthy, which is good, despite the fact that what's normal for a teenage girl can give you a nervous breakdown. Damn hormones!
What does worry me is that her blog is pedophile bait. She has a photo on it, says she's 17 but later admits she's 13, says she's a sexy beast and likes to party, is very friendly and wants to make friends. Pair that with the fact that she names the city/state she lives in, school, etc and it's not a good thing. I'm not saying she shouldn't have a blog, just that she needs to be educated about safety and careful with the info she shares, and I don't know if my sister has addressed that with her. Hell, I doubt my sister even knows what a blog is.
But what to do? The answer seems obvious, talk to my niece and sister about it, but it's not so simple. I had to take into consideration that my niece might be mortified that I found her blog and too chagrined/upset to talk about it. And if my sister doesn't know about the blog and I tell her, it could harm my niece's trust in me and cause trouble between my sister and her daughter. Oi, family.
I decided the issue doesn't have to be dealt with all at once, that I should talk to my niece first and not make it a big deal. So I emailed her and told her that she needs to be very careful online, and tried to do so in a way that wouldn't embarrass her, but leave her feeling good. And, of course, I'll talk to her more later, this is just a start. How she'll respond, I don't know, but here's the email:
Hi Luv! I was playing with google today and guess what?! I found your blog! Bet you're happy about that! So I just wanted to say I luv your blog and the photo of you is beautiful. And I'm sure you think it sucks that I found your blog but, don't worry, I won't tell your mom. Or does she know about it?
But do promise me one thing, that you'll be careful. There's a lot of creeps on the web and they like to make friends with and hit on young women like you, so be careful. Never give out your address or phone number to anyone online and never meet in person with anyone from the net. Even if they say they're your age or go to your school, don't give out any personal info or meet with them. k?
Ok, I'll stop rambling. We can talk about this more later. And I'm sure you're rolling your eyes at me, but I LOVE YOU and want you to BE SAFE. Have you noticed a theme? Be safe, be safe, be safe, if only to get your crazy aunt to stop bugging you. :P
So, love your blog, love you, you're getting more and more beautiful each day, be safe, eat your vegetables, look both ways before crossing the street... Oh, wait, you've heard this before, haven't you? ;)
Muchos, muchos luvvies!
- Amy
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