DISQUS

john erik metcalf: Question about digital outreach

  • David Giesberg · 1 year ago
    That is an interesting thought - wouldn't monitoring through social networking be problematic because as you say, our online experience mirrors our experience in the real world. After many tragedies everyone says they never saw the signs. Do you think they might be more visible online than in the real world?
  • Todd Sundsted · 1 year ago
    It's an interesting question. Much of the information is publicly available, so there's nothing to stop parents, friends, teachers, social workers, from digging in (and taking action). However, I wonder what the ultimate effect would be on making this information public -- would the people in question stop being so open. Only time will tell, I suspect.

    For what it's worth, I happen to live in the community where the three students who did all the church burnings in 2006 came from. One facet of the case was the fact that their MySpace pages painted a very different picture of who they were (inside?) than their public persona. It was eye-opening.

    Todd