Blogger News Network

by Stacy L. Harp

Parry Aftab, the Founder of Wired Safety, coined the phrase "attention competition" in regards to children who do things online that they normally would not do. For example, normally a child would not act seductively or remove clothing for strangers, but if you're a kid with a webcam and a blog and a "friend" online asks you to, then why not...and sadly children ARE doing these things all of the time. The reason - attention competition. The more outlandish things you do, the more popular you are, and the more people will hit your blog.

Just as I've noticed in the "adult" blogosphere, and what I mean by adult is not x-rated, but rather just normal everyday adults who love to read and write, this need for attention and the competition that is all too normal, is it any wonder that kids do the same thing? Of course not.

One of the first things a new adult blogger does, who wants to "get attention" is they instantly add themselves to the Truth Laid Bear ranking system. Why? - So that they get attention and can see how popular they become based on how many people they can get to link to them.

The whole underlying idea in the blogosphere is really driven by a desire to see who can be read the most, influence the most, get noticed the most and thus become a part of the "A List" of bloggers. Really this is nothing more than adults acting like they did in high school to see who would be the most popular.

The problems with children engaging in the blogosphere is that they are seeking attention and competing for attention by doing very dangerous things. Things that can get them killed. Things that can damage them for the rest of their lives. And things that every adult needs to become more seriously aware of.

Attention competition is a very serious problem and one that needs to be addressed in the blogosphere. Think about it - why are so many kids seeking attention from people they do not know online? One reason, I wholeheartedly believe, is that many kids do not have their parents or other significant adults paying attention to them in real life. Many children, who spend a lot of time online, are children of divorce. Many children are loners. Many simply do not have friends, even though they might "appear" to have them.

The bottom line is that our culture has in many ways denied children the love and attention they deserve and were created for. With the absolutely ridiculously high divorce rate in this country, is it no wonder that many children are seeking attention from men online? We are seeing the result of a fatherless generation. We are also seeing the impact of an oversexualized generation.

So, I have an idea. How about all of us adults in the blogosphere, who really love and care about the protection of children, see what we can do to encourage and nurture the kids we know in real life. Let us also do what we can to pay attention to what the pedophiles and sex predators, both heterosexual and homosexual, are doing to lure and trap these kids who simply just need attention.

How about all of us have an attention competition and see what we can do to raise awareness concerning the plight our nation is in. Remember that today's children and teens are tomorrow's adults. Don't you think we owe it to these precious people to model and be who we want them to be. I think so.

So, let's roll....and blog about it.