Protecting Generation ‘M’

On May 26, 2005, Gillian Sabet got into a car to go to prom and never came home. She died in an accident while riding in a car with five other teenagers, and while most of them survived, Gillian and her boyfriend did not.

They weren’t wearing their seat belts.

Gillian’s father, David Sabet, lives with that fact and has since, along with his wife, dedicated much of his time to educating the public concerning teen driving safety. In order to do so, he created the organization Journey Safe, which people can learn about at www.journeysafe.com.

“We don’t talk to our kids about safe driving,” Sabet said. “We have very nice funerals ... but as a society we are doing absolutely nothing.”

Sabet made his comments and spoke about his organization at the Keep Your Teen Safe meeting at Corona del Mar High School on Tuesday night. The meeting, sponsored by the Newport Beach Police Department and the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, provided informational booths and speakers to educate parents and their children about potential dangers that threaten kids inside and outside of school, including drugs and alcohol, driving dangers, health concerns, bullying, gangs and Internet dangers.

“I am new to the [Internet]; it is unknown to me,” said parent Ramsey Jajonie who attended with his daughter Emilie. “It is easy to teach her about the mistakes I know about.”

Many parents are concerned with the dangers the Internet brings with social networking sites like myspace.com, pornography and chat rooms.

Newport Beach police crime prevention specialist Andi Querry spoke about the dangers on the Internet and invited parents to take a class about protecting against those dangers June 18 at the Newport Beach Central Library.

Querry labeled today’s teenagers as “Generation M” because they are so media driven. One of the main concerns is their fearlessness when it comes to listing personal information on the Internet, Querry said.

“Parents, you need to get educated,” Querry said. “Talk to kids about their [social networking] profiles and see what they have on there.”

Other presentations and booths dealt with drug abuse and alcohol for the about 100 parents and children in attendance.

The goal of the night for the Newport Beach Police Department was simple.

“If we can reach one kid, save one kid — it’s worth it,” Sgt. Evan Sailor said.

WHAT: Internet Safety For Parents

WHERE: Newport Beach Central Library

WHEN: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. June 18

SIGN UP: Call (949) 644-3699 or e-mail [email protected]

DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at [email protected].