I frankly don't understand why people get so worked up about kids and the internet. I definitely watched plenty of online porn when I was kid. I spent lots of time on IRC, chat rooms, vent, forums, and in games talking to and playing with people who were significantly older than me. I had a great time, at no point was I "in danger", I was able to explore issues and questions I had in private, and I found the experience to be a great way to learn and interact with adults on a more equal footing. I think the only time kids can get into trouble is when they intentionally reveal their identity. As long as everyone remains anon, I think the internet is a perfectly safe place for kids on the whole.
South Korea provokes teenage smartphone privacy row
41–47 of 47 posts
Re: South Korea provokes teenage smartphone privacy row
#42This shows how thin is the layer of democracy in the society. "South Korea is a vibrant democracy. It's had free and fair elections since 1987." (so it is 28 years, this is only about 5 years more than nations in Eastern Europe who escaped Soviet Russian dictatorships). "Major-General Park Chung-hee took power in a coup in 1961. He was a strongman who utilised brutal methods - but he also dictated that industries be…
> (this also raises the question why dictators in the north were not able to do the same) Different strategies. Also, the DPRK made a number of big mistakes which doomed its economy, and much of its economic output is immediately spent on bribes. > This shows how thin is the layer of democracy in the society. It's not the only "democratic" East Asian country. I'm skeptical of Japan and Singapore where the same party…
I'm skeptical of Japan and Singapore where the same party always wins.
Singapore is a de-facto one party state where it is notable when an opposition party wins any seats whatsoever in the legislature. Three of Japan's last four prime ministers were from the Democratic Party of Japan, which is not the Liberal Democratic Party, which is the "same party" you're thinking of. The Japanese government, for all its numerous faults, runs hotly contested elections on a more-than-regular basis which can, and do, result in "voting the bums out."
Whether they have "democratic efficacy" is a bit more of an open question -- some observers of Japanese politics might opine that it is a rare, rare Japanese government where the legislature or prime minister exercise proximate control of the levers of sociopolitical power.
Re: South Korea provokes teenage smartphone privacy row
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
(this also raises the question why dictators in the north were not able to do the same) Presumably the continuation of the proxy war; the US would have been a lot more open to South Korea.
Gee, maybe instead that communism has been proven to be a economic, political, and human rights disaster? Oh right, of course not. Its the US's fault that broken ideology doesn't work, right? Communists never get judged by history it seems, at least on HN. Is there anything in your mind that isn't the US's fault?
Humans are prone to the irrational assumption that fault is a rivalrous good, so everything must be the fault of A xor B.
It seems to me the evidence supports the conclusion that communism is a miserable failure and the idiotic policy of trade sanctions and other forms of antagonism makes an already bad situation considerably worse.
Re: South Korea provokes teenage smartphone privacy row
#44I frankly don't understand why people get so worked up about kids and the internet. I definitely watched plenty of online porn when I was kid. I spent lots of time on IRC, chat rooms, vent, forums, and in games talking to and playing with people who were significantly older than me. I had a great time, at no point was I "in danger", I was able to explore issues and questions I had in private, and I found the experien…
I absolutely agree, when you and I were growing up on the internet, it was an obviously safe space because the norm was pseudonyms and anonymity.
Now it's all about tying everything you say to your full name and current living address so it can follow you around for the rest of your life as a permanent record. Kids can do serious harm to their future selves by acting like the self absorbed little shits that we all once were.
The public view is that staying anonymous is some kind of "protection for criminals". It's very difficult to explain that it's "protection for your child". In my view, this pressure to publicly identify is a huge problem online.
Re: South Korea provokes teenage smartphone privacy row
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
(this also raises the question why dictators in the north were not able to do the same) Presumably the continuation of the proxy war; the US would have been a lot more open to South Korea.
Gee, maybe instead that communism has been proven to be a economic, political, and human rights disaster? Oh right, of course not. Its the US's fault that broken ideology doesn't work, right? Communists never get judged by history it seems, at least on HN. Is there anything in your mind that isn't the US's fault?
You've read an awful lot into that comment that wasn't there. As the original comment points out, in the period from WW2 to 1987 South Korea was also a dictatorship. The early industrial development was state-owned industry.
Neither North nor South Korea had endogenous political development, and indeed North Korea is the last holdout of Soviet-style centralised power while South Korea has been heavily influenced by the US in is development. You might say it's been a "brutal success"; it has the economic development and seemingly everyone gets fed, but lacks political freedom. The US had a seemingly positive influence that was not available to North Korea; this is not a case of the US's "fault", not a result of active sabotage (unlike several countries in South America).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19697171
"Behind the stellar growth were sacrifices by workers who suffered under a repressive labour environment," she said.
"Behind the efforts for national security to protect (ourselves) from North Korea were human rights abuses committed by state power."
Re: South Korea provokes teenage smartphone privacy row
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
My kid sister and all her friends use Kik. I've had a blunt conversation with her about technology in general, but she is probably the only one in her peer group who has had such a conversation. That said, the 'controversy' section is an interview with two people. I could say the same about any app being used by children; if you know how to manipulate people and children use it, you can find children seeking validati…
To be fair: two separate interviews with pedophiles, 5 separate news reports including police warnings, and my personal experience with it. We're in agreement though - this can happen on any platform, and we essentially only have anecdotal evidence that it may be worse on Kik, but it's definitely one of the apps I would check with an at-risk youth. It's easy to lose track of all the newfangled apps kids are using the…
>It's easy to lose track of all the newfangled apps kids are using these days.
I dare say it is impossible to not lose track.
Even I, far more connected in the IT world than the average adult, often lose track. The average parent has no hope. And what is the alternative: preventing your child from using the internet?
As far as checking the apps, that works when the child is being careless; but many apps offer you ways to delete conversations and hide contacts.
>Your approach is ideal with a child you can have an open dialog with.
It is also quite rare, and when it does happen it is far later than it should be. Too many parents are willing to give their 9 year old a smartphone but are too embarrassed to even discuss the most basic sex related topics. Covering topics like porn, sexting, and predators isn't even a possibility. Even in my case, I have to discuss it because our parents aren't willing to.
Re: South Korea provokes teenage smartphone privacy row
#47The BBC should make look closer to home and grow some teeth and balls and challenge the horrendous and repugnant direction in which the UK government is trying to take on privacy, blanket spying on the general public, right to protest and freedom of speech.
> the horrendous and repugnant direction in which the UK government is trying to take on privacy Well that's just your opinion. A lot of people would disagree with you.
That's true. There are a large number of people that truly believe that if you have nothing to hide then you don't need privacy. Many believe that our security from terrorism is worth the trade off.
On that note, please can you post your last 6 months of bank account statements on github for us all to have a look at? I'm sure you won't mind us taking a look.