If your daughter was on youtube, would you want to know?

Thats the thing I can see a some parents freaking out over nothing really. I think it would depend on the parent if I would tell them. Like I said if it wasnt a big deal but I thought that the parent would freak then I don't think I would say any thing. If it was inaproprate then I would say some thing no matter what I thought the parent would do.

I agree with you, it does depend upon the video. I would hope a parent would call me even if the video is nothing more than my daughter's voice. At age 11, I feel that I should know what information my daughter does and doesn't have online.

When you consider the "what ifs" of being online, it gets pretty scary.

I would too!

What if one of them spends the night at their friends and makes a video there, so it isn't on their computer at home? I think a lot of kids nowadays are having video session sleepovers and parents don't have a clue.

You're right, we need to protect our kids. We need to be more watchful and know what our kids are doing online.

Yes there is a definite difference between being 19 and being 11 and safety should always come first.

Yeah, I'm actually rather shocked if YouTube allows kids that young to post on their own account without a parent's permission. But don't be sorry to disagree, we wouldn't have any fun discussions on MyLot if everyone just agreed with each other all the time.

Sorry, I have to disagree with you here. Maybe I am too old fashioned or not with the times. I feel that an 11 year old child has no right to be posting videos of himself or herself on the internet for the entire world to see without the parent's knowledge or permission.

I hope you're kidding. I'd also like to say right now that if they choose to do so, I hope our fellow MyLotters respond kindly to what you've just said.

Here's the thing I don't understand... how is posting a video on YouTube related to knowing where your daughter lives? The videos are not tagged with addresses. Personally, I'd think MySpace is more dangerous on that because they try to get you to put real information on there so that other people can find you. I don't use my real name on my MySpace and the only way people find me is because I met them in real life first and asked them to join generally. If I had a child, their MySpace page would be private and I'd make sure only their friends they actually knew were on that friend's list. As far YouTube though, a lot of times I've wondered where certain people live because I'm hoping some event they went to might be near me. And then I look at their page and it just says they are from "USA". Okay, how is someone going to search the entire United States for that person? How will someone find your daughter through YouTube?

I agree with you, mflower2053. As for the comment made about how someone could find you using YouTube, I agree about being able to get the IP address. Also, a lot of these kids aren't just showing their homes in the background - they're showing the town they live in. Someone living in the same town should have no problem finding the same kid or kids hanging out, making their next video.

Now, I'm not an expert on this, but I'm told that there are ways to get IP addresses from any website that collects them, and many sites do as a way of keeping track of traffic. IP addresses can be used to trace someone to a general area, then a few simple, innocent sounding questions can be asked to find out exact details. Online predators are no joke... The anonymity the internet and its vastness foster is a false sense of security. I know when you're administering, say, a forum, you can see people's IP addresses and find their locations from that. I can see people's IP addresses on my website. It is able to be done, but it's not easy to do. I wouldn't know how to go about it... I just know it can be.

Good idea, having the one mom not tell how she found out.

I agree, I think at that age, I want to know what information my daughter or son does or doesn't have online. At that age, I don't think what kind of video it is makes a difference in whether I want to know or not!

I think you might have misunderstood the question. My daughter didn't make a video. I think you are right though, that if the mothers involved handle it carefully, the girls' relationship shouldn't be affected.

I completely agree with you.

I'm actually surprised if YouTube lets 11 or 12 year olds post videos themselves. When I was a kid, you were supposed to be 14 before you could post on any site. Of course, many kids lied about their age, but still. As far as blocking sites and things like that, I don't think many parents realize how smart their kids are. My parents always had blocks on the TV when we were kids. My younger brother was always the one I asked if I wanted to watch a rated R movie since he knew all the passwords. There was no blocking things on the internet back in the day of the 14.4 modem dialup internet, but even if there was, I can assure you, we would have gotten around it. Now for having a video camera to even make videos for YouTube, I would never have been able to afford one when I was 11 or 12.

EXACTLY! EXACTLY!!! Where is the parenting? Evidently, a lot of kids have "video session" sleepovers where they're making these videos, posting them to YouTube, and their parents don't know a THING. Now I can understand how a parent wouldn't know what their child did at a friend's house but where was the parent(s) who were in charge of these kids while they were visiting? Some of these kids are making the videos during the weekend and then posting them Monday morning before they go to school. Is there some kind of secret clubhouse that I don't know about? Is that where all these parents are at?

Nothing is impossible! As parents, we have to be one step ahead of the kids...or at the very least one step behind. If kids can figure out the passwords for locks, they're too simple. My mom was the master. She would choose random words or numbers. She always set the passwords before she left us, and made us go to our rooms so we wouldn't see her do it. She'd then write down what the password was and put it in her purse so it went with her. If that sounds like too much work, one of the other things she'd do was take the phone line. (Back when we had dial up.) The rule in our house was "no computer when no parents are around". And my mom meant it and did whatever it took to make sure that rule wasn't broken. The computer was also in their room. (By the by, my brother is currently working as the head of a technology department for his local college. He went to school there and did so well with his studies, they created his job just for him. My mom managed to stay ahead of him, so I know it's possible.;-) ) Not that this is the case here, but too many times parents just don't put enough effort into it. It's sad, really.

I agree with you, RobinJ. I don't know why so many kids are making these videos and posting them online without parental knowledge or consent and the parents don't mind one bit. These same kids who are making skate videos today are going to be making some pretty inappropriate videos tomorrow since they're given free rein to do whatever they want!

An age appropriate video doesn't bother me. But making videos and posting them on the internet without parental knowledge or consent does bother me. I wish it would bother more parents.

I have no way of really knowing, but I believe the friendship would be over unless the mother of the girl who made the video made certain not to tell her daughter who told on her. I'm sure the daughter is going to want to know how her mom found out and that would end the girls' friendship pretty quickly.

I think the both moms would have to be in total agreement to protect the girls' friendship.

Completely and totally agree with you!