About two days ago, a very interesting feature on AsiaOne’s Edvantage not only would leave netizens (Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans alike) reeling in shock and concern but also leave us questioning where were the parents when that 11-year-old child (erm I mean brat) ranted against his maid on Facebook in an obscene manner. If you think a bunch of teenagers would be the only one doing it on social networking sites, think again. This is an 11-year-old kid, allegedly from a top primary school in Bishan as reported by Edvantage, we are talking about has a filthy mouth and mind worth washing and scrubbing out with soap.
Since the issue has been mentioned in Stomp and within cyberspace, the kid’s post got what he truly deserves: a flurry of comments condemning his behaviour. At least this shows that there are some well-mannered netizens out there who will not tolerate his behaviour. As a blogger, I feel sorry for his parents if word not only gets out but also I bet they would not dare to show their faces in public over what their son did. If that boy was my son, he is going to get a clipping from his parent, a lecture on the importance of netiquette and grounding him from using the Internet until he truly understands that good manners still apply in cyberspace (and it is not private as we all think) whether he likes it or not. That boy may never have fully understood the phrase “Internet is forever” because whatever he posts on Facebook he does not realise that any post will not only reflect his true colours as a person but also it will haunt him later on and for the rest of his life when he tries to enter the world of employment (Imagine his potential employers snooping in cyberspace and reading up his Facebook Wall ten or fifteen years from now).
However, the issue on the boy’s vulgar rants against his maid on Facebook do address the needs for teaching youngsters about the importance of netiquette in cyberspace and social networking sites. At the same time, all parents (doesn’t matter if they are Baby Boomers and are not part of the Net Generation) need to be familiarised with the Internet and play a role to ensure that children not only maintain good manners online but also teach them the consequences of posting a vulgar or obscene rant on a Facebook Wall page.
What says you about the issue of the 11-year-old Singaporean boy who posted this unacceptable rant on Facebook? Do you believe there is a need to teach youngsters about netiquette? Opinions are welcome!
Grounding not only from the internet, but anything else I could think of, not to mention maybe doing many more chores around the house to ease the burden of his housemaid are in order. Whatever else I could think of along the way too. Heck some community help would be good too!
Another, “Wow” from me, hadn’t heard about this at all.
It sounds like a child committed a childish act. The blog should be removed by the network administrator for bad netiquette. Everyone who posted mean comments is just as guilty of bad netiquette as the child.
I agree with you on that, mean comments are just as inappropriate.
First of all, an eleven-year-old should NOT have a Facebook account. I don’t understand parents who allow their little children, some as young as 7 or 8, to have online networking accounts. It is really unsafe because there are so many online child predators out there. But that’s not the topic being discussed here.
He should be grounded, have his privileges taken away, delete his post, and close his Facebook account. He cannot have a FB account until he learns to refrain himself from posting up vulgar, nasty and demeaning remarks.
MaiBao, I couldn’t agree more that boy shouldn’t have a Facebook account in the first place. You are absolutely right that we can never understand why some parents allow kids under-13 to have their own online networking accounts. That kid definitely should be grounded for what he did.
Wow, I couldn’t believe what I read…um…whether or not it is to someone’s face, via the internet, via social network site…the channels may change in which we communicate but the way we should communicate with each other does not. I hope he can realize how that hurts people’s feelings and why he said those things rather than get his Facebook account taken away.
Sounds like a temper tantrum on the Internet. Yes, he needs to be taught boundaries of net etiquette. However, there may be something much more serious in terms of the parents’ role in his life..where he is demanding attention.