This does show how teens don't really act safely when it comes to online activities. The fact that you brought a male friend to your meeting was good, but think about it, what if your "40 something" friend had brought several of *his* friends. Say goodbye to your friend, and say goodbye to you. The fact that you didn't tell your parents about it in advance of the meeting also shows that kids today will seriously not think twice about getting into virtual cars with strangers.

I'm not trying to be overly harsh here, nor am I focusing exclusively on teens. Indeed, my ex brother-in-law just tossed away a 20 year relationship with my sister for some bimbo he met online. She actually talked the idiot into sending her thousands of dollars to bring her here to the states. Imagine his chagrin when she didn't show up at the airport!

It comes down to this: fantasy and reality. The Internet offers a merging point of the two. People can be anything they want and engage in all sorts of cyber related and *safe* activities. Indeed, I really don't know of anyone who has gotten pregnant from cybersex! However, it's when people decide to cross that fantasy line and bring it into making it their own personal reality that things get scary. Certainly the poster who brought a male friend with them to a meeting took a little bit of a precaution, but not nearly enough in my opinion.

I think that this forum should develop a checklist for kids to follow whenever they plan on meeting IRL someone they've met online. For me, I'd make sure that parents were informed and actually *talked to the person on the phone at the very least* before a meeting was arranged. Think about it... you met someone without knowing who they are! Get a phone number, let the person know that others will be there (like your parents!), etc. and figure out a way to be 100% safe! If you want to mix fantasy with reality, you're going to have to find ways to make safety your number one concern, not just meeting new people.

i'm curious as to how old your daughter is?

i know the media is scaring a lot of parents with myspace acting like meeting up with people online is a new thing for teenagers. i am in my twenties and was doing the same thing when i was in my early teens. i just used aol to do it.

when my parents became concerned they told me either i gave them full access or i didn't have access. period. tell her it has nothing to do with you not trusting her but tell her there are people out there that pretend to be someone else.

true story-- i actually went to another city to meet up with a "boy my age" when i was 17. he turned out to be in his late 40s. luckily i took a male friend with me for safety measures.

so i'd say-- tell her either you have access or she doesn't. period.

i have a little one myself now and when she gets an interest in the net, those will be our rules "so long as she's living under my roof."

good luck!

How do I create my own account to see my daughter's stuff if her's is private and she doesn't want me to see?