Hmmm Dilemma about teenagers... need opinions

[jfulcer]

I just video taped a FOAF's wedding and went over to her mom's house to show it to her and her family. While I was there, they found out I was a computer geek and asked me to figure out what was wrong with their PC. I couldn't diagnose it there, so I have it at home here.

It's a pretty old PC and I told them if it was anything serious they were most likely better off getting a new machine with them being so cheap lately. I asked them if there were any important documents on the drive they needed and everyone said no. The computer is toast, so I was scanning the drive for documents they might want to keep...

Their daughter (I think she's about 16) had been using the machine for Instant Messenging and she saved some specific chat logs. I skimmed one and they are not anything really bad - just kinda generic teenage ramblings about her friends/guys she liked/etc. There's nothing that as a dad if I found my teenager typing would be upset about.

I also found some MP3s that appear to have been downloaded from iTunes. Now I know I should grab those and put them on a CD for them, but should I discreetly grab the logs (there were some other school related documents) and give it all to the girl also?

I don't want to embarass her, and honestly didn't read the logs as they are really none of my business - but would she be mortified if I gave them back to her and she would think I saw them, or should they just become accidentally 'lost' ????

I had told them that if the PC was toast I'd just keep the machine as payment and I'd take parts of it and recycle the rest so everything can just 'disappear' but I think I should get the MP3s for them, but if I can get that.... I can get the logs.... Ahhhh what to do what to do????

Suggestions?

 

[Barb D]

Could you call the girl, tell her that you noticed that there were some IM log files and that you figured they were hers, and ask her if she wants them?

 

[jfulcer]

Could you call the girl, tell her that you noticed that there were some IM log files and that you figured they were hers, and ask her if she wants them?

Yes, but then again I run into the issue that she may think I've seen them. I can logically play dumb and say to the family "Here is the documents directory" pretending not to know what it contained and that would be ok, but then her family might see them, and again she may be embarassed if they know or see them.

I just don't know if I'm trying to put toooo much thought into it.

 

[DVCLiz]

It would be kind if you downloaded them separately and gave them to her quietly. She will already have figured out that you have had access to them, and it's not up to you to make her comfortable about that - I'd ignore it entirely. But it would be nice to say, "I burned your files on a CD' and just give it to her.

 

[nliedel]

Burn them to CD and quietly hand them to her and never mention that you read them, just that you saw them and figured they were hers.

 

[Twinkles6892]

I'd call her and ask her if she wants them, because if you opened on and realized what it was (don't saved IM's look like internet files?) and there are more of them, and see if she wants them.

No offense, but if my computer guy asked me if I wanted some files, I wouldn't care if he read them, number one, he's just my computer guy. And number two, if there's nothing bad in them, I don't think she'd really care.

 

[NMAmy]

Frankly, I'd just ignore them and let them go. I doubt that they're that important to her or she would have said something--she may have even thought she'd deleted them.

I have a 14 yo, and 95% of the junk she saves is just that...junk that she really has no intention of looking at again.

 

[Dan Murphy]

You really ARE a good guy, Jeff, I knew it all along.

I would burn the CD, tell her/them you saw there was a doc folder and just copied it for them, do they want it.

 

[jfulcer]

Frankly, I'd just ignore them and let them go. I doubt that they're that important to her or she would have said something--she may have even thought she'd deleted them.

I have a 14 yo, and 95% of the junk she saves is just that...junk that she really has no intention of looking at again.

She saved them in word documents, that's why they stood out. I agree that it's junk, but it's her junk....

 

[snoopy]

It would be kind if you downloaded them separately and gave them to her quietly. She will already have figured out that you have had access to them, and it's not up to you to make her comfortable about that - I'd ignore it entirely. But it would be nice to say, "I burned your files on a CD' and just give it to her.

Perfect.

And its really thoughtful of you to even consider this Jeff. Most people would not have been so considerate.

 

[TEENEE]

I agree with DVCLiz. I would quietly copy the girls files and give her the disk. I have found things that I kept when I was a teenager. Some things I have no idea why I kept them but at the time they must have been important to me.