A Chicago legislator has introduced a bill in Illinois’s state senate to ban MySpace and other social networking sites from computers in public libraries and schools. The bill comes as no surprise, as last week, three children were not only cruelly beaten by MySpace and Friendster but were later thrown in a dumpster by Facebook.
Other states, like Georgia and North Carolina, are calling minors to get parental consent in order to view sites like MySpace, while North Dakota is introducing children’s shock collars to enforce the rule.
Most librarians are opposed to the legislation, saying the Illinois measure is too broad and would hurt kids who can’t afford the Internet at home.
Here’s what we think — why are their computers in school libraries? We understand computers used for basic options, like finding books (because everybody hates the Dewy Decimal System), but why aren’t kids… reading? We’re all for allowing our kids access to various things on the Internet as long as their parents actually talk to them and warn them of various dangers and also check-up once in a while. But do we really need them in schools? Why don’t they read a book in their free time or throw a ball?
So, we tip our hats to you, Illinois — ban away.
