Today, dozens of pre-teens and teens will hear a message adults are late telling.

To many adults — even some relatively young ones — life in a social media world sneaked up. But to teens — even children — it’s just life.

Children younger than the age of 8 have Facebook and Twitter identities now. They know how to upload videos to You Tube, and they send Internet messages without thinking.

Few 13 year olds realize that what they post on the Facebook page could prevent them from getting that high-school summer job, could get them kicked out of school or could get them arrested.

Why? Because adults aren’t telling them.

Some savvy parents have done a wonderful job of knowing what their children post online. Others, though loving and protective, haven’t a clue.

Adults who aren’t parents haven’t stepped in to help matters either.

A few months ago, a group of adults on the Miss-Lou Regionalism Education Committee realized all this and decided they could, in fact, step in and help.

The group has organized assemblies on both sides of the river today to educate children and teens about the dangers of the Internet.

The Internet is no longer new, believe it or not. And the saying the “dangers of the Internet” no longer refers to just sexual predators visiting chat rooms with children.

Today’s dangers revolve around a society that, perhaps, exposes too much of itself online, posts online without proper thought and bullies others behind the safety of a keyboard.

The lessons are many, and thankfully today we’ll start teaching.