This isn’t much to do with mobile, but a lot to do with technology - plus it’s important, so I’m going to write about it anyway.

The last few days have seen sexual predator coverage (and worse) getting into the mainstream media, with CNN and others reporting the problems with MySpace. Police think numerous girls (aged 14 -16) have been tricked into meeting older men, who attempted various sexual acts with them.

Leaving out the commercial imperatives of stopping your customers getting molested by dirty old perverts, as a society we must work together and find ways to prevent this happening.

At MobHappy, we’re relentlessly upbeat about technology and that’s not going to change. However, we do need to acknowledge that there’s a dark underbelly in society that will use any tools available to them to carry out their disgusting practices. These tools can involve technology, just as they can involve bags of sweeties outside school gates.

The key difference is that even small kids know to avoid strangers hanging round parks and schools. 5 year olds know not to get into cars to go and to go and look at kittens. And if a 50 year old man came to your door tonight asking if your kids could come out to play, you give him what for and probably call the police.

This is because everybody knows and everybody understands the rules. Especially parents and schools have a consistent message to the kids and that message is retold by the kids themselves to each other. The message is also highlighted by the media every now and again, when some poor child gets abducted and abused or murdered.

Furthermore, Stranger Danger is a physical phenomenon - you can see suspicious people hanging round kids and go and punch them.

But online, it’s very different because most parents and teachers don’t understand the tools, online etiquette or what rules might apply.

Rupert Murdoch talked a while ago about the difference between a Digital Native and a Digital Immigrant - the former growing up with technology and the latter having to learn it from scratch. However, there’s a third category - a Digital Ignorant - people who won’t get involved in technology, as they’re too intimidated, too frightened, don’t know where to start or just don’t see the need.

The big issue we face is that it’s by and large the Digital Ignorants who are in charge of communicating the rules. Plus, they’re trying to teach the Digital Natives who know far more about technology and the Natives assume, about the attendant dangers. Thus the very people who need protection and their peers are de facto making the rules.

I’ve been doing quite a lot of work at my kids’ school recently, trying to get parents to start taking responsibility for how kids use technology in their homes. It’s really quite scary how little these well-intentioned, committed, bright parents know about the dangers or what rules they should be enforcing. Even more scary is how their kids are using technology.

As an example, it’s not unusual for 10 year olds to have blogs these days. At our school, these include details such as real name, age, school name, town name, siblings’ names and any number of clues that make them easily identifiable. Worse, it gives a potential stalker any number of angles to pretend to be a trusted friend, which is the start of a grooming campaign.

One of the “wake up” calls to parents is to ask them what they’re going to do when their kids want to have a face-to-face meeting with someone they meet online. If they blanket ban it, there’s a real risk that the child will do it secretly anyway, as they’re only going to meet a lush 14 school boy for a walk in the park, aren’t they?

So while it’s certainly important for MySpace to try to offer a safe environment, it’s impossible for them to do so if kids behave stupidly, albeit inadvertently. If I build roads, I can ensure that they’re well-lit and have pavements. But if people insist on dancing in the middle, at night, wearing black clothing, there are bound to be accidents.

Therefore, the first step is for parents to educate themselves and at the very minimum read something like MySpace’s excellent safety tips, including the incredibly important basic rule:

Never publicly post in ANY online forum any personally identifiable information.

There’s loads of similar information, like Safe Kids or Wired Safety.

Failing to learn about these issues is the same as not teaching your children to look before crossing the road. Or, when they want to learn to drive, just handing over the keys and saying “Cool, hope to see you in a few hours, son.”

If you’re a parent and reading this, please make sure you understand. And if you already do, please try to make your fellow parents understand, as you already know more than most. Forward this post to any parent you know, or just the links above and perhaps a child will be kept safe who would be otherwise.

Finally, I don’t want to seem to be scaremongering or anti-technology. Most kids will use computers and other tools with prefect impunity, no matter how recklessly they behave. But just as the odd child gets run over, the odd child will have a nasty experience, so let’s try to make sure this is minimised.

Take control, for the sake your children.