Ginnie Weasley/COS and Internet Safety for Children

[Mhochberg at aol.com]

Sarah Gipp _department.of.mysteries at gmail.com_ 
(mailto:department.of.mysteries at gmail.com)   wrote:

<<<Rowling said she diary that villain Tom Riddle uses in  book two to lure 
Harry into the Chamber of Secrets is like an internet  chatroom.

JK said: "When I wrote that, I had never been in an internet  chat room. It 
is very similar - typing your deepest thoughts into the ether  and getting 
answers back.

"You don't know who is answering  you."

The idea came from a childhood diary her younger sister, Dianne,  confided 
in.>>>

_http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2003/0303-sundaymail-staff.htm_ 
(http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2003/0303-sundaymail-staff.htm) 

I wrote back:
Thanks, Kaesa, especially for the link. The books are  so popular and Ginny 
so loved, especially by little girls, that it works as a  great example of 
knowing, in 3D and living color, who you are really talking  to.
 
Kaesa also said:
Before I'd read that, though, I'd thought it might have  been a reference to 
the act of writing a story. I started out writing  original fiction, and 
later discovered fanfiction. When I write (at least,  the way I write) I put 
a lot of myself - my faults, my beliefs, arguments  with myself - into 
stories, and so, while it's not really intentional, I  can't help but feel 
sometimes that there's more of me in the stories than  there is of me in 
*me.* 

I said:
Yes, sometimes I don't know what I think or believe until I say it or write  
it. There is something in the act of organizing your thoughts for someone  
else that clarifies them for yourself too.
 
Kaesa also said:
On the topic of internet safety, I'm glad it's  being taught to younger kids. 
I babysit two girls who are in third and fifth  grade (I think) and sometimes 
they tell me about all the stuff they do  online and I start to worry, 
because while I know not to give out certain  information, these girls are 
not me. I'm naturally paranoid, and they're,  well, not. And sure, I've never 
encountered a pedophile (that I know) or  gotten into any trouble online, but 
it's better to be safe than sorry, to be  cliched. And people on the internet 
can be far, far creepier than one would  think *possible.*
 
I said: 
It is a problem and not enough people are aware of the problem. Most  people, 
children included, don't realize how much information that they give out  
over time. Here is a website that helps them understand some of the basic  rules. 
Perhaps the children you babysit might want to check them out.
 
_http://disney.go.com/activities/today/index.html?page=safety_ 
(http://disney.go.com/activities/today/index.html?page=safety)  
 
It's not perfect but it does help. 

There are also classes that muggle parents who are NOT computer  literate can 
take to help them protect their children. Here is a place that can  help.
 
_http://www.theinternetandyourchild.org/_ 
(http://www.theinternetandyourchild.org/) 
 
When I took the class last year, one instructor posed as a child and went  
into a "summer fun" chat room. Within an hour, someone approached her in a very  
sexual way.
 
Thanks again for the link!
---Mary