November 15, 2008
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Unsubscribing
Recently I received a message from a girl who said her mother forced her to unsubscribe to my site because of the content on my site. I told the girl that she should listen to her mother because she knows best.
Would you allow your 15 year old child to be subscribed to my site?
Comments (156)
I don’t have a 15 year old
Absolutely. I don’t see much wrong with your posts. As long as she can form her own opinions and use your site as a reference of another person’s opinion, it’s all gooooood.
I don’t think anything on your site is offensive.
Yeah, whatever’s said on this site is 100x better than what she hears in high school anyway.
Probably not. I don’t think I would allow my 15 year old to subscribe to your site. Mostly because they don’t really know you and neither do I. Though I’m sure they would if they really wanted to. I can’t control my children 24/7.
Yeah, because censorship is bullshit.
And here I thought y’all “older” Xangans find us teenagers to be evil devil spawn!
@LilSweetJew - Have you seen all the boobs?
My mom tried to control what video games I played once, I just laughed at her and shook my head.
yep
Not so much because of your posts, but probably yes because of some of the comments.
I dont know, it depends(tho i dont have a 15 year old) some of the stuff on this site is pretty dang mature. For that matter what is a 15 year doing on this site? What could they be writing about?_? I mean if it is for friends then there is myspace and facebookO_O
If I had one, yes.
nope, I’d keep them too busy playing games.
Well, I’m not a mother…but I don’t think I would care. Nothing on this site is really that bad, in my opinion. All those who freak out at your posts are silly, I think.
I’m a fifteen year old and I subscribe to your site. [of course, my xanga's a secret from everyone in real life, so yeah]
i wouldnt want my 15 year old on xanga period!
Probably not, because of comments as well as some of the content.
@Hallelujah_Haptism - You could look at my site to find out what a fifteen year old writes about
Although today I’ve been kinda…blah, I’m sorry to say. Haha
yes.
you’re an attention whore, but make up for it with common sense.
I’m 16 years old and I subscribed to your Xanga. =)
I think that a 15 year old should be allowed to subscribe to your Xanga as long as they are mature about it & don’t say anything that’ll manage to piss off everyone else here, which most 15 year olds do.
Yes I would, have I mentioned I am 15 though? (I point that out a lot, I just realized.)
Ifind nothing wrong with your site.
@HeartOfPandora - no but that is because I rather not see boobs of other girls.
I’m 15.
Yes!
@LilSweetJew - Lol but the point is that Dan’s got past posts on the site showing breasts, so I can understand why the girl’s mum didn’t want her subscribed to Dan.
yes. i think you’re always appropriate. even when the subject is sexual or something, its not innapropriate.
If I had a 15 year old I would let them.
No way, man. You’re the greatest. I would let my kids see your site anyday, if I had any! LOL.
s.c.
I don’t have a 15 year old. But I don’t think I’d let my 15 year old subscribe to you.
Nothing personal.
My cousin’s 15. All you do is ask questions for people’s opinions…if that’s so wrong, how in the hell does this woman let her daughter out of her house? Or even in the kitchen.
“Sarah*, what would you like for dinner?”
“HOWARD*! How dare you speak to our daughter like that!”
**names made up to protect the innocent
Um, no. I would hate to think of what my son would be doing at 15 to your breast cancer awareness pages….
yes
@HeartOfPandora - Ha! Yeah. Though set aside the whole breast issue, everything else good.
Yeah, if there was a way to prevent them from accessing the savetheboobs site thing. A high rating or something. Otherwise I don’t think you really have any highly questionable content. Hell, MY xanga is usually worse.
I know a 15 year old who had to quit reading your site because of the “save the boobs” campaign.
I’m 17, but I doubt my mom would let me read your site if she knew about all the things you posted about.
But I’m stickin’ around.
no… but then I don’t want fifteen year olds subbing to MY site…
well you do bring up adult issues sometimes. But I think they are worthy of being looked at…
yes, but only if you limit your boobies post to legals only! well, limiting won’t make any differences, but makes me feel better.
i start to subscribe to your site just few days ago.
it’s interesting and sometimes inspire me !!
where’s the link at?
at least it’s informative…..she could learn a lot from here
definitely. you’re site asks simple questions that require thought! it’s not like you showing porn or anything…..
ask me again when i have one.
Probably not, even though I was subscribed back when I was 15. Assuming I had a 15-year-old.
I say yes simply because they will have to face it sooner or later what goes on in real life instead of living in a fantasy world that everything might be perfect when it’s not.
my mom never “monitored” my internet use. That’s retarded. Probably because I’m smarter than most and I don’t talk to people I don’t know online and then meet up with them in person.
But then again, I wouldn’t even allow my daughter or son on the internet… Unless I was right there anyways.
Well, you’re a bit more controversial now than back when my daughter 1st joined xanga & came to your site a few years ago, (actually only 12 at the time, almost 13) she’s 16 now, & no I wouldn’t have a problem with her being subbed here now, or before now…… Unfortunately she does MS now, & no more xanga.
I’d much prefer her to be on xanga. 
I guess – we’ll see eleven years from now…
No way. But not because of your content. =)
Sounds like that this girl’s mother is a facist.
Possibly. It depends on the maturity level of the child. Your site encourages people to look at things from um…interesting perspectives and think about why we believe the things we do. That’s not a bad thing for a 15-year-old to learn.
@Hallelujah_Haptism - So teenagers are not capable of writing a blog or diary? I’m insulted.
*shrugs* I don’t have kids….
Sure. I still don’t see why people make such a big deal about your site. Yeah, some topics are a bit risque’, but that is what content filters are for.
Sure.
Yes
Yeah, if I had one.
I would, even though I’m not even old enough to have a 2 year old…well from my own perspective LOL!! But yes, I would. Because that girl will learn a lot from you. Her mother is too overprotective.
Depends on whether he/she has good judgment.
I think this is definitely no worse than a PG-13 blog so I would not worry about a 15 year old subscribing, they probably “get it” better. That mom should have use it to start serious conversations. (Mind you my daugther is now 22 so I don’t worry about such things any more.)
@Hallelujah_Haptism - There are lots of people 15 and under on xanga. Even us “old” people can find their content interesting.
Oh my god!!
I don’t see why anyone would find content on your site offensive…
Maybe because of silly reasons like differences in beliefs and that, but I think that’s lame.
You shouldn’t have to censor the world from a fifteen-year-old. I am not a parent but I do know that it’s important for kids to sort out reality for themselves, especially at that age. But… who am I to tell people how to raise their kids…
It’s too bad, but I think if I were the parent, I would encourage my child to see the world from all different perspectives.
I AM a fifteen-year old.
Yes.
My kids were mature enough at 15….so yeah.
Yes, but that may change with age, because currently I am a 16 year-old-child.
If I had one, maybe. I just wouldn’t let them look at the tits.
To be on the safe side I wouldn’t allow anyone under 18. That way you don’t have to worry at all…..
I would not let my 66 year old mother subscribe to your site. Call it whatever you like. I call it “Sour Grapes.”
I’m Back.
..:: dr. dante
Sure – why not. There’s a reason I’m never having kids though…
I’m 16 now, but I was subscribed to you when I was 15. I can’t think of anything you’ve posted that would be considered inappropriate by my parents, but they aren’t monitoring anything I do on the internet anyway because they trust me.
Yeah, I wasn’t much older (maybe a few months) when I subscribed to you.
Wellllllllllllll, I’m 14.
If I had a 15 year old, I would.
Heck no! Mostly because of the comments but your content pushes the edge from time to time. Would you feel ok about God reading your site?
betterhalf and I would probably have a discussion on this one.
Yes, by the time I have kids and are fifteen, there would be much worse things.
Probably not. The posts aren’t bad most of the time but sometimes… i mean, what’s with the obsession of breasts?
i haven’t seen anything to make me think not. i don’t have children, but i do have students. i wouldn’t tell my students they can’t read your blog.
YOur blog? Sure
Your comments? Not so much.
once upon a time yes – today? not so sure.
depends where they’re at emotionally and how close a relationship we have – scary world out here bro –
was a time when ‘links to hell’ (yeah i kno) were not found here -
and i’m not talking about the boobs
you mostly write about the news. would i allow my 15 year old to read the news. yes.
LOL. No. Most of your topics aren’t exactly for that age level.
But…I’m still 19–what do I know?
Nothing you write is offensive, I find it very thought provoking.
*shrugs* I’d trust that my child would know enough what to read and what not to read. Yeah, I subscribe to your site, but I don’t read all of your posts, because of their content. But for the most part, I find a lot of your posts interesting and informative.
I mean, I think you’re quite entertaining.
If I had a 15 year old who was capable of handling mature subjeclines, determining right from wrong, then using those abilities to make proper decisions, I would have no issue with the child viewing your site.
i’ve seen much worse at 15 lol. kids who are too overprotected turn out a little slow sometimes lol
Yes. By the way, all 3 of my kids have read some of your posts, Dan. Mostly out of curiosity as to why Mom is laughing so hard. (Usually I’m laughing at other’s comments.)
There is nothing on your site a 15 year old should be sheltered from…..
Yes, because there will be trust between my future daughter and I.
I just turned 16.
My mom doesn’t mind what I think…so long as I watch what I do.
I don’t see why not.
In my first 3 months of reading your site, sometimes I would go back to my own site after visiting yours and think, what did he mean by that”? I’d come back for re-read or two and sometimes I would get it. I do not always agree with your point of view but I never felt like agreeing with you was a requirement to visit or reply. Thanks for that. I have thought your site is a little edgy sometimes and prefer that to the homogenized rhetoric that doesn’t have any role in teaching me to look at the world on the other side of my walls and doesn’t ever make me think.
By the time my child was 15 his judgement was pretty good and he made alot of sound decisions. If your site was a gathering place for spewing hatred I could see me advising against visiting, but no forbidding stuff. Looking out for him while allowing him to excercize his own judgement worked well for us.
i’m 16 and my mum doesn’t care if i have a xanga or not.. who cares who i read
Weird.
Psh.
I subscribed to you when I was only fourteen :] My dad didn’t care when I was visiting him. And my mom just doesn’t even pay attention to me nowadays… so I don’t see the problem. (I just said that you were “discussing politics.” Haha) Like I said, she doesn’t care.
new boyfriend of hers that she’s shacking up with. /sigh.
it’s like saying you shouldn’t watch certain TV programs because they’re bad for you. it’s not the tv program that is the problem, it is the judgement you use while watching the program that is the problem.
i think the mother can teach her daughter in making good judgement, not make the judgement for her daughter by telling her to unsubscribe to your blog.i’m not in my teens, but i’m not in my thirties either. i’m your typical mid 20′s anarchist, if you’re wondering where my perspective may come from
I don’t know. Maybe. I was 15 when I subscribed to your site….
I think its good that the 15 year old’s mother is paying that much attention to what her daughter is doing
I’m 18 years old? Does that make a difference?
And the 15-year-old is probably going to find ‘more offensive’ material from other sites than your xanga, Dan.
Probably as long as they didn’t try to send in boobie shots
Oh, sure yeah. There’s worse stuff on the intarwebs.
Although I *have* thought about this, and I’m not sure I would allow offspring of mine to join a blogging or social networking site until they were 16 (unless they displayed a high level of responsibility). Trolls, sexual harrassment, people dropping by your site to tell you to kill yourself (never happened to me, but a friend of mine), creepy types fishing for personal information… I don’t know, I just don’t think I would feel comfortable having a kid on a site like Xanga.
Then again, if I ever did have a kid, I might not be able to say no for long, when they ask.
Well, I don’t want kids of my own anyway.
I wouldn’t make a big deal about it.
No.
Probably not. Maybe if they were very mature.
If I had a 15 year old I would probably make sure they subbed to you. Expose them to the world a bit. Besides, you’re pretty much harmless.
naaa, I wont. 15 is young to see boobies or read about sex. Im kinda strict.
I am fifteen, but my parents are computer illiterate. So I’m okay.
I don’t have a fifteen-year-old child, either. Because I am fifteen-years-old.
with all those booby shots, of course. better rate your blogs properly, old man.
depends on the 15 year-old. however, your site encourages people to think, and that is a pretty useful skill. many would benefit from learning it.
@KNEESOXROCK - Well it depends (againXP) some teens write some pretty deep/good stuff but i mean in general age 15 is like….huh what exactly are you going to write about? Your boyfriend!? How serious could it be? Or the struggles of day to day life? Or maybe how your going to pay off you student loans? But then again maybe i’m just being a age bigotX_X i mean i was a teen last year.
@faerieshadow - I believe that but thats a shoot of longs or more-less rare. Its pretty hard for me to get into what a 15 has to say=.
@FallenReign - I’m just saying in general. You are the exception with a few others.
… It depends on the kid.
No. I don’t even let myself subscribe to your site.
If I had a fifteen year old.. probably not.
I was around that age when I first subscribed to you though, so I’d be a hypocrite.
I’d tell my fifteen year old she needs to get off the computer and get a life.
nope.
sure but she’ll only be allowed to read your posts with parental guidance
No, but only because I wouldn’t allow my 15 yr. old to have a Xanga site. (Nor MySpace) I don’t feel it’s wise nor safe for kids to be “out there” on Xangaland or MySpace. But hey…. that’s just me.
I think you shouldn’t control a 15 year old one like that.
I am 16 right now, and I feel like you have some good stuff to say about things. And if I had a child, then yes I would let them subscribe to your site. I believe that at that age they should start making their own decisions and forming their own opinions on certain things that you bring up. But that could just be from growing up in Africa. I’ve had to make my own decisions and opinions earlier than the Westerners have…
It depends how mature my 15 year old was. I think your site would bring up lots of questions and i think open communication is good. Would you let your 15 year old son read your site?
Your site is fine, but I don’t seem to be able to unsubscribe.
I am grieving over the sudden death of someone I loved very much, and I really would rather keep my site “quiet” and private for now. I appreciate the invite you sent, but am going to try to unsubscribe again. I’m just not up for general topics, et al, at the present time.
I wish you well.
absofreakinlutely yes, i don’t see anything wrong. anyway, thanks for the invite. I didn’t know popular xangans like you invite nobodies like me. hallelujah!
Probably not…. but I am a little overprotective. Maybe when she’s 18….
i’ve been subscribed since i was 14 or so…
parents need to quit their wishful thinking about what their kids do online. hell, when i was 14 i even watched porn online.
From the posts I’ve read of yours, sure. You have brought up a lot of things to think about. Sure the comments have been a tad over-the-top for some but I think they are no worse than what you would hear in high school.
It depends on the fifteen year old.
Besides, I think censorship is becoming somewhat of a lost cause. Like the_evil_tamaca said, a lot of things are a lot better than what fifteen year olds will hear in high school. High school is hard to censor, and that’s where teenagers spend the majority of their time anyway. Also I don’t understand why a lot of parents believe that just because their child is exposed to something that it is going to affect them greatly. The child can choose to block it out, like excessive profanity…how many kids in high school are good, honest kids who never curse and make straight As? Tons. They are all exposed to the same material that everybody else in high school is exposed to.
Anyway I’m rambling. But I hope you see my point.
Good question.
Sam
If I had a 15 year-old, she/he wouldn’t even know internet exist, Hah! Who am I kidding?? Kids these days know a lot already at a young age, she could just make another xanga, as simple as that.
Probably not.
Based on the deluge of comments from actual 15 year olds, seems the general consensus is that Theologian is a good read for that age group.
But would I let my (hypothetical) 15 year old read you? Sure… as long as I knew what was being discussed. Who knows… maybe create opportunities for more dialog between us.
I’m 15.
I’m not a parent, but if I was, I would let he/she be subed to your site.
…Ive only visited a few times but i havent seen anything that would make me think its just for adults. Is there a rating system i havent noticed or something?
ehh, I don’t know. That mommy must be quite the strict stick.
I’ve been reading this since I was 14.
If my daughter were anything like me, she wouldn’t mention stuff she does online to her mother except stuff she knows the mother is a-ok with. Hence she would have learned how to manipulate privacy settings and delete history around the age of 8.
im 16…
Sure.
Uh, yeah, fifteen is old enough to read anything you put on your site. The mother is being overprotective, and if the teen wanted to look at your blog enough she’d do it anyways.
but,….I am 15 xP
maybe not, i am not sure, i have 8 years to wonder and decide. i am sure you will be a celebrity when my oldest turns 15.
Nah,your not bad or I wouldn’t subscribe to you…
I was fifteen when I subscribed to this site.
you’re mostly harmless. flagrant trend follower. get off on a little controversy and pedophilia. a typical namedropping People magazine reader. no redeeming value but no worse than the trash on TV these days
I would. My kids need to know whats out there, and how people respond differently. and not just to the news thay allow on TV, to the stuff thats not so main stream and popular.
yes
@SnippiesBlog - Agreed!
@Hallelujah_Haptism - i’ve had Xanga’s since i was like 12, and almost all of my friends had them back before the whole, myspace/facebook craze
i still prefer xanga, i just dont really bother to post
but i dont bother to check facebook/myspace either so its whatev.
I think this site is amusing, and its interesting to see other people’s opinions
however i know some parents who would freak out at Dan’s site, so it’s hard to say
I think it depends on the maturity level of the 15 year old
Maybe… Some topics are pretty mature. I guess I would as long as I could watch the topics and we could discuss any that needed it.
i don’t have a kid… but if i did… ofcourse i’d let her/him sub to your site. it keeps me informed and i don’t want them to grow up not knowing stuff. going to your site is like going to starbucks and reading news. it’s comfy and normal. =D
If only sometimes your posts weren’t obviously slanted… now someone’s gonna shoot me O.o, anyways I enjoy your posts even though I’m sure we’re polar opposites and would happily agree to disagree
but I would definitely let my child subscribe if my child were old enough