Wednesday 9 April 2008

Talk to strangers

What does a 21st century parent say to his 21st century 9 year old son when he leaves for work in the morning? Well, this morning, I found my self saying to my lad (who has just discovered Club Penguin), "Have a good day at school. Be good for your Mum. Don't reveal your identity online."

We used to tell our kids not to talk to strangers. Now we encourage them to talk to strangers, as long it's through their avatars. Kids are learning how to role play alternative identities online from an early age. Will the sort of identity scaffolding that we consider to be an important part of the MUVE induction presently, be as relevant in the future?

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