KIDS THESE DAYS:Don’t shy away from Web prying

Paris Hilton is going to love this, I just know it.

The story involves a local young lady whose name I do not want to print, even though it has been mentioned in this newspaper as well as in a front page story in the Los Angeles Times.

The reasons are threefold. First, I am the father of a girl almost the same age. Second, the young lady in question does not need any more attention of the type she has been getting and third, her name is not important to the points I wish to make.

The young lady in the story is a high school athlete who recently received unwanted attention on the Internet. There have been many supportive messages to her but too many are too creepy. From what I’ve read, they’re downright scary.

What she is going through is an important lesson for all parents in the electronic age.

The electronic information options in our homes, which include Internet access and e-mail capability, have in some important ways become more intrusive than television. I know, I can’t believe I’m writing that either, but it’s true.

At least with television, communication is one way. With Internet and e-mail, unchecked conversations and exploring are the norm.

One example stands out. Not long ago, a 15-year-old local girl became the object of several stomach-churning e-mails from a married man twice her age who lived out of town.

The content of the e-mails, while disturbing to her parents, was not illegal, but let’s just say that had the man’s wife discovered his messages, he would have wished he were arrested instead.

Her parents intervened and the married man has not been heard from since.

The athlete’s involvement with the information age is also intrusive but here, I see an opportunity. In fact, I see an opportunity here for Paris Hilton, too.

The father of the young lady on the Internet is an attorney who is exploring legal options. That’s a natural reaction from an attorney. Had it been my daughter, I’d be writing my way through my anger. Were her father a cardiac surgeon, I would expect him to want to cut the heart out of anyone who makes those types of comments about his daughter.

But instead of exploring legal options, how about making lemonade out of these lemons? Since her name and images are all over the Internet anyway, why not create a website with some appropriate images of her, perhaps a brief bio, and sell a few things, whether they are T-shirts, mugs or banner ads.

All of the profits can be donated to a charity designated by the young lady.

Paris Hilton can do this, too.

I read that the first shot of Hilton in her cell behind bars could get as much as $500,000. This image is most likely to be taken with a cell phone camera sneaked in for the opportunity.

But what about Hilton cutting off the paparazzi at the knees? What about having her take her own photo (or have someone inside do it) and selling it herself for the $500,000? Then she can give that money to a favorite charity, too.

The electronic age is not going away. If anything, parents need to be far more vigilant than they ever were with television.

Some tips:

1)Tell your kids you will be checking their online activity.

2)Don’t let them make you feel guilty about No. 1.

3)Check their online activity often and don’t do it in secret. Let them see you being a vigilant parent.

4)Keep computers in places where the screen can be seen by anyone passing by. That is the way it is in our home -- my screen, too.

5)Enable parent controls on computers whenever possible.

6)Most important, do not be afraid to confront your children when you find inappropriate electronic activity.

I doubt that any parent reading this will have to contend with the attention that our local young lady or Paris Hilton are receiving. But if they do, I hope they remember the charity angle.