I would like to know if the wikiHow community that “hangs out” round the Village Pump is generally ok with 11 years olds being advised to flirt. I have seen articles mentioning middle school aged readers and 11 year olds specifically in the title that mention flirting with the opposite sex in the article. I, personally, think an innocent childhood is a rare privilege these days and no one should encourage people under 16 to flirt but perhaps I’m living in Victorian Times?
system
2
Hello. In elementary school, the kids had girlfriends and boyfriends. Honestly encouraging kids to flirt in a way that doesn’t involve flashing breasts is considered good advice to me. Good advice is better than no advice and theyll just do it anyway.
system
3
5th grade for me was 20 years ago. Back then, there were students holding hands, flirting, holding each other’s waists, etc. Nothing really more to what you read on wikiHow in 2014.
I see no reason why they shouldn’t be allowed when we allow other articles with much more questionable content, such as cheating on your spouse or making smoke bombs. Besides, 5th grade relationships are the most awkward, cringe-inducing relationships you will ever see. They need all the help they can get!
behave as though sexually attracted to someone, but playfully rather than with serious intentions. I guess my definition of flirting, and the Oxford Dictionary must be wrong then.
Elocina
6
Isn’t it the job of the parents to monitor what their children are reading and doing online? I think they are the ones who are responsible for their children having an innocent childhood and also for teaching their children about these matters. Also, I think there are worst places to go than wikiHow for these things (Cosmo etc.). Honestly, I read Seventeen magazine when I was in the fourth grade and a lot of the dating/relationship stuff went over my head. If they are already looking for it, someone at school probably already told them on the bus or in the locker room etc. I also don’t think we should limit content just because of how it affects one group of people. wikiHow already gets criticized enough for censorship. I don’t think we should be held responsible for children’s innocence just because the site has a dating section.
system
7
And thus why I refuse to allow my kid to have a Club Penguin account, but monitor her with Animal Jam. I installed a kid-friendly browser as well instead of Firefox for her online game browsing. With all the painful ways kids are roleplaying about relationships online, parents should be the ones drawing the line about what their kids see and really should be the ones responsible; it’s not the internet’s nor the people contributing on the internet.
Parents should monitor what children see on line. I wonder if parents are aware that 11 year olds are even given advice to flirt in wikiHow articles? If everyone thinks it’s normal for 11 year olds to be sexually attracted to others, isn’t that a tad risky? People do contribute to the internet and use it for less than wholesome reasons. Shouldn’t those that can take what steps are possible to prevent harm? Articles about relationships can be written well with good advice without including the word flirt.
Generation Z (kids born during the 21st century) are growing up surrounded with technology and social media accounts. If it’s 2014 and there are 10 year olds already owning cell phones, then chances are they’ll be getting into relationships at a young age, too. Sure it may be controversial, but as @Elocina
says, it isn’t our place to limit content just because it may affect some people.
system
10
I’ll be a thousand times more worried of what my kid learns from other kids… not by what she reads on wikiHow. This is life, and how people observe one another. You cannot stop it.
Ever since the ethics “debate”, I’m a bit unsure about these issues. If a fifth grader wants to flirt (which I would strongly oppose), I suppose they can, but I still think that wikiHow should not be hosting content which actually facilitates it. Just my two cents.
Ttrimm
13
This horse has been dead a LONG time.
system
14
May we please stop bringing back topics every single week that have already been decided upon? Yeesh.
I am so sorry to have taken up your valuable time with my views Kalenka. I was not aware that I should read every other forum post ever before voicing an opinion. Just to clarify then, was the decision, is it okay to promote the sexualisation of children on wikiHow or not?
system
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For something that has been practiced, established, and formulated into the 20th and 21st century for decades, wikiHow is hardly “promoting” such topics.
When I was 11 I didn’t know what flirting was and did not consider myself sexually attracted to anyone. In Rotherham in the UK children have been encouraged to flirt and it hasn’t gone too well. Have 11 year olds really been flirting since the sexual revolution in the 60s? Granted in days gone by it was encouraged for children to get married but in the UK where sex with a minor has been illegal for quite some time I don’t believe that it is common practice for flirting to take place between, or with 11 year olds.
system
18
The 60s and 70s were about the drugs and sex. Times change with every “modern life” the way you see it. There may not be 11 year olds flirting in that specific decade, but I know for a fact 5th/6th graders are now having sexual education in school, rather than 7th & 8th like it was 20 years ago.
I don’t need to fix it if it’s not broken. If everyone is happy about giving advice to 11 year olds on how to playfully show their sexual attraction to the opposition sex, there’s nothing to fix. That’s why I asked the question, to canvas multiple opinions on the matter and not just use my own judgment. @TtRimm
