Child Safety on the Information Highway

Lawrence MAGID

Personal computers are no longer the only method used for accessing the Internet. Children can go online from personal computers at home, a friend’s house, in school, a library, club, or cafe. Many game consoles can be connected to the Internet and used for chatting and other online interaction. It is also possible to access the Internet on mobile devices such as cellular telephones and other handheld devices. In other words children don’t have to be in the company of responsible adults to use the Internet.

There are no censors on the Internet. Anyone in the world - companies, governments, organizations, and individuals - can publish material on the Internet. An ISP links you to these sites, but it can’t control what is on them. It’s up to individuals to make sure that they behave in a way that’s safe and appropriate.

Positive experiences

Most people who go online have mainly positive experiences. But, like any endeavour - attending school, cooking, riding a bicycle, or travelling, - there are some risks and annoyances.

The online world, like the rest of society, is made up of a wide array of people. Most are decent and respectful, but some may be rude, obnoxious, insulting, or even mean and exploitative. Children get a lot of benefit from being online, but they can also be targets of crime, exploitation, and harassment in this as in any other environment. Trusting, curious, and anxious to explore this new world and the relationships it brings, children need parental supervision and common-sense advice on how to be sure that their experiences in “cyberspace” are happy, healthy, and productive.

Many people, including children, have been confronted with material that is disturbing or inappropriate. There are steps parents can take to try to shield their children from such material, but it’s almost impossible to completely avoid all inappropriate material. Sadly there are some cases where children have been victimized by serious crime as a result of going online.

The fact that crimes are being committed online, however, is not a reason to avoid using these services. To tell children to stop using the Internet would be like telling them to forgo attending school because students are sometimes victimized or bullied there. A better strategy would be to instruct children about both the benefits and dangers of “cyberspace” and for them to learn how to be “street smart” in order to better safeguard themselves in any potentially dangerous situation.

Risks for children

There are a few risks for children who use the Internet or other online services. Teenagers are particularly at risk because they often go online unsupervised and are more likely than younger children to participate in online discussions regarding companionship, relationships, or sexual activity.

A child may be exposed to inappropriate material that is sexual, hateful, or violent in nature, or encourages activities that are dangerous or illegal. Children could seek out such material but may also come across it on the web via chat areas, E-mail, or even instant messaging if they’re not looking for it.

A child might provide information or arrange an encounter that could risk his or her safety or the safety of other family members. In some cases child molesters have used chat areas, E-mail, and instant messages to gain a child’s confidence and then arrange a face-to-face meeting.

A child might encounter messages via chat, e-mail, or their cellular telephones that are belligerent, demeaning, or harassing. “Bullies,” typically other young people, often use the Internet to bother their victims. While children need a certain amount of privacy, they also need parental involvement and supervision in their daily lives. The same general parenting skills that apply to the “real world” also apply while online. If you have cause for concern about your children’s online activities, talk to them.

Learn to deal

Remember - how you respond will determine whether they confide in you the next time they encounter a problem and how they learn to deal with problems on their own.

Beyond these basics, there are some specific things that you should know about the Internet. For instance did you know that there are chat areas, newsgroups, and web sites that have material that is hateful, is violent, or contains other types of material that parents might consider to be inappropriate for their children ?

Also the Internet contains newsgroups, web sites, and other areas designed specifically for adults who wish to post, read, or view sexually explicit material including pictures, stories, and videos. Some of this material is posted on websites where there is an attempt to verify the user’s age and/or a requirement for users to enter a credit-card number on the presumption that children do not have access to credit-card numbers.

There are ways to filter or control what your children can see and do online. One type of filter, called a “spam” filter limits unsolicited E-mail including mail promoting sexually explicit material. Some ISPs and E-mail services include filters as part of their service but, if not, there is software you can purchase that will attempt to limit the type of mail that gets through.

There are also ways to filter what a child can see on the world wide web.

Service provider

Check with your service provider to see if they offer age-appropriate parental controls. If not consider using a software program that blocks chat areas, newsgroups, and websites that are known to be inappropriate for children.

Most of these programs can be configured by the parent to filter out sites that contain nudity, sexual content, hateful or violent material or that advocate the use of alcohol, drugs, or tobacco. Some can also be configured to prevent children from revealing information about themselves such as their name, address, or telephone number. You can find a directory of these filtering programs at www.getnetwise.org/tools.

While technological-child-protection tools are worth exploring, they’re not a panacea. To begin with, no program is perfect. There is always the possibility that something inappropriate could “slip through” or something that is appropriate will be blocked.

Filtering programs

Finally, filtering programs do not necessarily protect children from all dangerous activities. For example some do not control instant messaging or chat services which are particularly dangerous because they put a child in instant communications with other people.

Also some filters do not work with peer-to-peer networks that allow people to exchange files such as music, pictures, text, and videos. These peer-to-peer networks are sometimes used to distribute pornography, including child pornography.

Filters are not a substitute for parental involvement. Regardless of whether you choose to use a filtering program or an Internet rating system, the best way to assure that your children are having positive online experiences is to stay in touch with what they are doing. One way to do this is to spend time with your children while they’re online.

(safekids.com)