Tulsa woman talks to teens about online social networking

Published: 2007-12-24

TULSA, Okla. (CNS) -- The teens enter with eyes rolling, their bored expressions reflecting their disdain at the prospect of hearing another adult tell them something they shouldn't do. The topic is the lifeblood of many teens' lives -- computer-generated communication -- but their body language signals their contempt for what they are about to hear. Except they haven't heard it Amanda Williams' way. "I tell them I'm not here to lecture them. It's a discussion, just letting them have the opportunity to be heard. So often teens feel they never are heard," said Williams. She was talking about her efforts to share with young people what they need to know about possible pitfalls of social networking using technology. She talks to parents and educators, too. "I tell them things they didn't know," Williams told the Eastern Oklahoma Catholic, newspaper of the Tulsa Diocese. "I showed them how with minimal information they have posted on their MySpace page, people within minutes can produce a map to their house, know the name of everyone in the household and what time their mom gets home from work," she said.

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