OK, fine, the Internet is a terrifying place with child-hating maniacs at every turn. It is clearly a good thing I never reproduced, because my spawn would be The Curmudgeons Of The Future.
Facetiousness aside, though, is no one teaching letter writing these days?
I remember assignments in school in which I was expected to write to complete strangers, and at a relatively early grade level too: members of the armed forces, the Vice President (get well card to Hubert Humphrey), astronauts. I got an autograph from Red Skelton and a really nice letter from Michael Crichton who answered a question I had about the disease mechanism of the Andromeda virus. I had foreign pen pals. (Come to think of it, I still do.) I even discussed books with inmates at one point.
How can you tell your favorite artist/musician/author that you enjoy his work? How can you tell your elected representatives your point of view on an important issue? How can you apply for a job? How can you, yes, ask a stranger a question about information she put out on the web?
Concerned about turning your kid loose on the internet? Be a part of the process. Get involved with their correspondence project, by which I mean supervise without doing it for your Wittew Dew Dwop.
Who knows, maybe teaching kids how to use the US Mail and the Internet responsibly might even prevent things like the "I Hate Olivia" club that appeared on Myspace.
Words are powerful things. Writing letters - or emails - or blog entries that other people will see - is a valuable skill. As with anything worth doing, it has its risks, but it has its rewards too.
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