Shielding our children from website obscenity

MySpace is one of the largest social networking websites that exists today. According to MySpace, their "social networking service allows their members to create unique personal profiles online in order to find and communicate with old and new friends." Members can create an online journal, keep in touch with friends, and post personal information and photos. They allow anyone over the age of 14 to create an account and post anything personal. Yes, over the age of 14!

Lionel WIJESIRI

The government recently banned a number of websites which donot comply with the right to reply concept. Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that the government and the Media Ministry have the sole responsibility of protecting children, the future generation, the country's reputation, its people and safeguarding national security. A large number of parents sent letters to the Media Ministry requesting it to act against websites containing pornography and obscene languages, the minister added.

At a recent family gathering, I met with a niece whom I have not seen in a while. During the visit, my niece's oldest son asked me if I wanted to see his website. He is just 13 years old - "what type of website does he have?" I wondered. I imagined all sorts of possible topics - sports, hobbies...even something school-related. He sat down at his grandmother's computer and typed in his URL. Expecting to see something totally different, you could imagine my surprise when I discovered that he did not have a 'website.' What he did have, was an account on MySpace.

MySpace is one of the largest social networking websites that exists today. According to MySpace, their "social networking service allows their members to create unique personal profiles online in order to find and communicate with old and new friends." Members can create an online journal, keep in touch with friends, and post personal information and photos. They allow anyone over the age of 14 to create an account and post anythingpersonal. Yes, over the age of 14! So why is my niece's son a member?

While I stood over and watched him appear so proud of his creation, I could not believe that my niece would allow her eldest teenage boy to open an account on a site such as this.

I was worried for him. I asked him if his account was private, to which he replied, "No." I began my speech about how unsafe the Internet is, and why this type of site is not safe for children. He must have thought I was crazy... maybe it was the smile he thought he hid from me while he viewed all the new friends he had. Maybe it was the reply he had given me that I so often hear from children -- "All myfriends have one."

I wondered if his parents knew about his Internet postings. He told me they did. So of course I had to confirm the fact that his parents knew about it, and why they would allow him to put all his personal information, including pictures of him, his family on an Internet website for all to see...at an age that MySpace does not allow.

My niece and her husband did not look too bothered by the fact that their young son told me that his account was not private... that he was sharing all his personal information with strangers around the world." Oh, we'll have to check that out," she told me. If he was my son, he would not have any website where he could post any personal information, private or not. Nor would he be allowed to post any pictures. I'm sure they weren't aware that their son could also run searches for other people on there as well. They are naive to think that their child is safe from dangerous individuals.

All I could do was give my opinion, and try to share some of the knowledge of Internet safety I had tucked away. I ended the discussion, and as I walked away, I wondered if their son had an Internet connection in hisbedroom. "I'd better not go there," I thought.

There have been news stories that have tried to explain to parents why it is not safe for children to access the Internet in their bedrooms. There have also been many incidents where these social networking websites have been breeding grounds for those who want to harm children. Recent incidents involving Internet crimes against children have been prominent in the media. In some incidents, the crimes have involved suspects and victims who met each other on social networking or blogging sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

There are many sites on the Internet that are sexually explicit, and that encourage activities that are dangerous or illegal. There are sites that encourage the use of bad language, sites that encouragedestructive behaviour such as anorexia, and sites that promote racial and religious intolerance and hate.

Some web sites and newsgroups contain information that advocates the use of drugs, tobacco or alcohol. It's even possible to find places on the Internet where you can learn to make bombs or obtain weapons. With a resource as vast and as uncontrolled as the Internet, your child can find almost information that he or she may want.

Fortunately, there are contemporary Internet filters which enable parents to control their child's use of the Internet. The filtering programmes enable you to overcome the difficulties inherent in preventing your child from being exposed to harmful web sites by enabling you to filter out and block sites that you have deemed inappropriate, or conversely, by only lettingthough specific web sites that you have deemed acceptable.

It is important to remember that the Internet can offer children a whole new a world of exciting opportunities and educational possibilities. It is a vast library of information that you can bring into your home and is very easy to use. It can be used by children to help with homework, and also for all kinds of fun and constructive interactive games. It can be used to research information for school projects, to communicate with people from all around the world, and to share resources and ideas with people that have the same interests.

Guidelines for parents

Experiences in many countries, including USA, have proven that it is technically so difficult to regulate the Internet totally. The question then arises, how can we protect our children from objectionable material?

The only sure way of doing it is through parental guidance, helped by rapidly proliferating new technology.

The following are few guidelines:

Talk with your children about what they can and cannot do online

Be reasonable and set reasonable expectations. Try to understand their needs, interests, and curiosity. Remember what it was likewhen you were their age.

Be open with your children and encourage them to come to you if they encounter a problem online

If they tell you about someone or something they encountered, your first response should not be to blame them or take away their Internet privileges. Work with them to help them avoid problems in the future and remember - how you respond will determine whether they confide in you thenext time they encounter a problem and how they learn to deal with problems on their own.

Learn everything you can about the Internet

Ask your teen to show you what's cool. Have them show you great places for teens and fill you in on areas that you might benefit from as well. Make 'surfing the net' a family experience. Use it to plan a vacation, pick out a movie, or check out other family activities. This may be one area where you get to be the student and your kid gets to be the teacher.

Check out blocking, filtering and ratings. There are now services that rate web sites for content as well as filtering programmes andbrowsers that empower parents to block the types of sites they consider to be inappropriate. These programmes work in different ways. Some block sites known to contain objectionable material. Some prevent users from entering certain types of information such as their name and address. Other programmes keep your kids away from chat rooms or restrict their ability to send or read E-mail. Generally these programmes can be configured by the parent to block only the types of sites that the parent considers to be objectionable.

Whether or not it is appropriate to use one of these programmes is a personal decision. If you do use such a programme, you'll probably need to explain to your child why you feel it is necessary. You should also be careful to choose a programme whose criteria reflect your family's values.

Be sure to configure it so that it doesn't block sites that you want your children to be able to visit. Censorship is not limited to books and physical media; it also has effects on the Internet and the digital world. Censoring material on the Internet, therefore, has become an important issue for countries around the world. However, censorship is an ongoing issue and it is only half of the battle. The other half is in the hands of the parents.