New content, cool games, and news from TheSite staff - it's all here. Now where's the tea?
All | Community updates | Announcements | New content | Fun
Friday May 30, 2008
Two steps forward, how many back?
We're all fascinated by this story in a local paper in South London on a council spending £15k to replace a few steps. The reason has nothing to do with safety; it's because nearby residents don't like the fact that young people sit on them.
The council has decided to spend time, effort and money to remove the steps and make it as uncomfortable as possible for young people to hang around. They are even proposing not to install a handrail so teenagers can't lean against anything.
In their defence the council says the work is part of a package of improvements that also include trying to make a local park safer so that young people have somewhere else to go.
Even so, it does seem like a bit of a drastic measure. And as many of the comments have pointed out, the issue is not that young people are hanging out there – it's that there is a small number who are causing problems.
It's great to see a number of young people taking up the issue and we'll be watching to see what happens.
Who thought concrete steps could be so fascinating...
Posted by Olly ( 2:02 PM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]
Wednesday May 14, 2008
Were we right to publish it?
Every so often, we have to take difficult decisions about what we publish; and what we choose not to. We've always taken a stance that our site users make their own mind up about the information that we publish; which is why we try never to preach about drugs, crime or safe sex. That stance means that we rarely hold back on providing information and true stories providing they are based on fact and honestly-held opinion.
But sometimes that is not enough, and we've had a engaging debate as to whether to publish an article we commissioned on prostitution. According to the Home Office, nearly one in 20 men aged 16-43 have paid for sex in the last five years; and in London that figure nearly doubles. There are about 80,000 individuals involved in prostitution in the UK, roughly the same number as those who work in the social housing sector. And although soliciting, brothels and kerb-crawling are all illegal; the actual act of paying or accepting payment for sex isn't.
So when we interviewed an escort who described how much money she got paid, how safe and in control she feels and how her biggest problem is clients with smelly breath; there was a collective expression of concern. The reality is that this is highly atypical of the sex industry; and the majority of prostitutes are there because of a dependence on income to pay for drugs, or increasingly through being trafficked or tricked into coming to the UK. Many prostitutes are victims of violence and rape whilst working, and again according to the Home Office, 75% were forced into prostitution before they turned 18, and 95% are involved to support theirs, or their partner's, drug problem.
The last thing we wanted to do was publish a story that glamorised the sex-industry, or glossed over the horrific experiences that leads people into prostitution. ITV came in for plenty of criticism over the Billie Piper fronted Belle Du Jour, and that was labelled as entertainment. But we're not about entertainment - we're here to provide information.
But conversely there are claims (and research) that more and more female students are turning to the sex industry to help fund their way through university. We're here to reflect the realities of being aged between 16-24 in the UK. The drug trade is equally full of horrific and brutal statistics---albeit the majority not in this country---and yet we publish information on drugs because we know that many young people in the UK use them.
So we have published the story. Because ultimately we're not here to tell people how to live their lives.
I'd be interested to know if you think that was the right decision.
Olly
Posted by Olly ( 11:49 AM ) Link to this post | Comments[4]
Friday May 09, 2008
Poke that!
I love social networking websites because I get to find out about cool events that would otherwise fall outside of my radar. I hate them because I occasionally get weird messages from people I met randomly three years ago that quite frankly fall under the category of spam. Just this week I got a long rambling message from someone which included the sentence:
COULD YOU POSSIBLY TO TELL ME WHAT ARE YOU DONG THESE DAYS? WHICH FILM YOU HAVE SEEN AT LAST,WHICH BOOK INFLUENCED YOU RECENTLY?, ARE YOU HAPPY (IN THE PIC I CAN SEEE YOU GOT SLIGHLY WEIGH ,BUT YOU LOOK REALLY GREAT).
Got slightly weigh? Thanks for that, but what's with the SHOUTING?
For your chance to tell us what you love and hate about social networking sites, click poke that to complete our latest survey.
Imagine if people's behaviour on social networking websites was mirrored in the real world. Here's a video from the BBC's Wall which gives a scarily accurate picture of why some people's actions online are pretty ridiculous, not to mention downright offensive, at times.
Posted by Helen ( 2:38 PM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]
Wednesday May 07, 2008
Young people aren't interested in politics?
They say rap about what you know... well, these two American teenagers appear to have decided to rap about their love of the political magazine The Economist. Have a listen here.
It'll cheer up your Wednesday afternoon...
Olly
(Hat tip: The Guardian)
Posted by Olly ( 10:59 AM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]
Festival fun
I'm a festival virgin. It's not that I don't want to go to a random field, party and watch the biggest names in music, it's more to do with the fact that I'm about as useless camping as condoms in a convent. The last time I made an attempt to set up a tent I ended up sleeping under the stars with my camping buddies using my car as a makeshift home for the night. The thing with camping is you've either got it or you haven't. Some people enjoy the outdoor experience but I'd much rather be at home with my slippers on and a hot cup of cocoa in hand. Perhaps one day I'll pluck up the courage to go to one.
If you're a wannabe festival-goer like me, check out our new festival section on TheSite.org. There's load of tips on everything festivally from how to pull to advice on avoiding mud.
You can also watch or read our vox pops on your own festival experiences as we ask you what your most memorable moment is, your festival nightmares and who you'd like to see play at your dream festival.
Posted by Chris Denholm ( 10:54 AM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]