Here's a textbook case illustrating why it's critical for parents to keep an eye (not sensor, be aware!) of their kids' presence on online. A 14-year-old honestly may not be aware that voicing a physical threat against the President - even though it may seem like semantics to the kid - is very serious federal offense. Parents, on the other hand, should know this. And I think that parents should be involved enough with their kids to catch something like this and correct it before it harms their child. I know parents can't be everywhere at once, but as a parent, it's your job to do the best you can to protect your child and sometimes that means getting into their business, e.g. MySpace page. Kids, if you want privacy, write in a journal on paper. That's something parents shouldn't read. MySpace is public domain and should be treated as such.

This situation reminds me of when the movie "Kids" came out. I was in college then; I was that age when you are just in between that kid mentality and adulthood. That film was painful for me to watch because I was seeing it from both sides. What I left thinking from that movie theater was, "Where were their parents??

Parent-child relationships today and even for the Generation after me - I guess that's Gen Y - are very different from my generation's. My parents weren't Baby Boomers, they are older than that generation. They had no interest in trying to be friends with me and my brother; they clearly understand that their role in my life was defined as "Parent" and that didn't mean they felt any need whatsoever to pander to my needs. The new model for parenting seems to be that parents are cool and hip and down with their kids. I think that's both good and bad. But the best aspect to how my parents' generation approached parenting - as "Parents" - meant that they set the rules, they were in charge and I'll tell you, because of that, they protected me from a heck of a lot of harm.

As the world changes with this social revolution, I don't envy the job of parents out there. You have a heck of lot of work cut out for you in raising today's kids. You don't just need to make sure that your kids aren't drinking and driving or doing drugs or hanging out with the wrong crowd at school, you have that whole online element to patrol. Making sure that your kids aren't just not befriending strangers on their way home from school but also online.

It's a lot of work, but it can be done. It must be done, for the sake of keeping children safe.