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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
May 16, 2006
/ 18 Iyar, 5766
As cool as you want to be … and the parents' nightmares begin
By
Mitch Albom
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
It wasn't so long ago that a teenage girl who wished she were prettier would parade in front of a mirror in her older sister's clothes. And in time, she'd be called downstairs for supper.
It wasn't so long ago that a teenage boy, wishing he were tougher, would do push-ups on his bedroom floor or mimic a movie poster on his wall. And in time, he'd be called downstairs for supper.
You'll notice a similarity in those fantasies: They began and ended inside the teenager's imagination.
Those days are gone.
Today, you can be as cool, as sexy or as old as you want to be. You simply put yourself on MySpace.com. You create a page; throw up some suggestive photos; make up lies about your age, experience or coolness; and bask in the idea that other people see you the way you want to be seen.
And you don't think about the fact that some of the people seeing you are creeps.
Last week, my newspaper, the Detroit Free Press, followed the story of a 13-year-old Harrison Township, Mich., girl who pretended, through her suggestive site on MySpace, that she was 18. A 25-year-old man drove all the way from Indiana to pick her up. They were in the car, reportedly heading back to Indiana, when police in Kalamazoo County, Mich., stopped them.
That was lucky because something tells me they weren't going to see a movie. Let's say, for argument's sake, they had sex. And then they were caught. Several lives could have been altered forever, possibly ruined by trials and jail time.
For what? Boredom? Loneliness? These emotions have been around forever. But the Internet to loneliness is like fission to uranium. Suddenly, there's an explosive new world of possibilities. Most of them are bad.
Now, I know the easy reaction is to call the 25-year-old a pervert and to sweep the poor, confused young girl into our protective embrace. But before you do, you might want to wander through MySpace for an hour.
You will weep for the future.
Many of the young faces are sullen, sunken or sultry. The nicknames they give themselves would embarrass a porn star. Their photos are often half-naked. The language of their messages can range from boredom to sex to violence to weirdness to sex again.
This is not the first generation to harbor fantasies. But it is the first to share them with the world. When we were kids, we never would have gone out with "I don't give a ..." on a T-shirt or Playboy decals on our heads. We wouldn't have walked through the school promising the best sex ever.
Why? Because we'd have been laughed at. We'd have been exposed. But if you don't need to come face-to-face with your clique, you can be anything. The fat and pimply can be trim and popular. The shy and awkward can be sexually dynamic.
As cool as you want to be.
As long as you don't leave the computer.
The problem is, even today's kids want to go outside now and then. They embolden themselves for a meeting at a mall, at a gas station, at a coffee shop.
And the parents' nightmares begin.
So how do you stop it? Well, monitoring your kid's computer use is obvious. But the MySpace generation is way ahead of you, ready with fake-outs and secret tip-offs to their co-chatters. (POTS stands for "parents over the shoulder.")
You could lose the computer altogether. But as long as libraries and schools and Internet cafes exist, kids will find a way to log on.
The bottom line is that you must be more involved with your kids than ever. The world has changed: It's split in two, on-line and off-line. And that precious ninth-grader you think you know may be someone quite different to a lot of other people.
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© 2006, THE DETROIT FREE PRESS
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