Just how dangerous is the Internet for kids?
Is the Internet an electronic Sodom and Gomorrah? Will using it result in your child becoming a reclusive pornography addict or, worse, abducted and murdered by a sexual predator? Or is that hype?
According to David Pogue at the New York Times, “Sure, there are dangers. But they’re hugely overhyped by the media. The tales of pedophiles luring children out of their homes are like plane crashes: they happen extremely rarely, but when they do, they make headlines everywhere.”
I think David sums the position up reasonably well. That said, you certainly shouldn’t ignore the dangers just because they may be overhyped. So, just how far should you go to keep your kids safe online? I’ll offer 4 pieces of advice:
1. Understand the technology. If your kids are using IM, you need to know what IM is in order to understand whether it’s a risk. You don’t need to be a expert, but you do need a basic grasp of what your kids can do – and are doing – with their computer.
2. Use an Internet filter. A product such as OpenDNS can stop your kids from intentionally or unintentionally visiting inappropriate websites.
3. Set some ground rules. We all tell our kids not to take candy from strangers, and we should all be telling them what not to do when using the Internet. Yeah, it may be common sense – and they’ll probably roll your eyes when you tell them – but you should make sure that they understand that they are never to give out their name, address, telephone number of any other personally identifying information to somebody that they do not know.
4. Talk to your kids. What do your kids do online? Talk to them about it. Do they use Facebook or other social media sites, download music from P2P networks or chat via IM? If you know what your kids are doing, you’ll have more understanding of the risks to which they may be exposed.
What do you do to ensure that your kids are safe online?
Filed Under: Breaking News > My Online Life > Privacy-Security
Tags: child safety, internet safety, online safety
grand point featured here, and predators are hacking computers and are up to date with any technological devices at hand, meaning we got to be extra careful–especially for teens, cause I’m one too ….
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With two teens (one boy and one girl) – I am fully aware of the dangers – but from discussions with them it is pretty clear – those kids looking to get into trouble can find it… but their generation is perfectly aware of the dangers and far more careful than we give then credit for… Take some smart precautions – Internet filtering and virus/spyware protection… but if you have enough faith to let your kids got out with friends in the evening – trust them on the web too.
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like i said if ur talking about me Rodger, then i agree but i’m no parent i’m only sixteen
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One of the most important things to understand and to consider when making decisions about your kids and the internet is “exposure”. Back in the day, the worst thing kids could get their hands on was a playboy magazine. The things I have seen on the internet from innocuous searches are way more adult and traumatic than anything I had the potential to be exposed to as a child. You have to know that, use a filter and consider at what age you are willing to let your kids be exposed…because they will be.
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I agree with you . I am a teen and i know the dangers, but people hyped up so much all the time that they get paranoid. Its not like your going to add a random email to your msn just because. Same with face book. or any other thing like that. I mean.. obviously kids have common sence. I agree we might be needed to be informed. But i mean.. there has to be some trust in the issue.
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I am now 25, and growing up using the web, I have always had common sense in not giving out personal information, not meeting up with anyone in person that I’ve met online, etc etc. I know my friends have had the common sense and known the dangers of the web. That being said, I’ve met a father with a teenage daughter who was abducted by someone she met on the web when she was 14, and she was used in a national child porn ring. Luckily, she was rescued by police a few weeks later, but you can’t reverse the damage that was done. Check out http://www.pervetedjustice.com to get an idea of how many of these sickos are out there, just how messed up these sickos are, and how far they are willing to go to satisfy their lust. That website will make you not want to have kids, or if you already do, to want to lock them up for the rest of their childhood years. It DOES NOT HURT to instill the fear of the web. A few years ago, I met a 12yr old girl on the web who started to tell me her personal information such as city of residence, elementary school that she went to, etc etc. I warned her that there were predators out there, and she didn’t know who I was, and that she should not be telling me her personal info. Her response was “You’re nice, I trust you”. Thank goodness that she was right. I regret that I did not call her house and speak to her mother about it. Predators all start out nice. WARN YOUR KIDS. Scare them if you have to. The web is a pervert’s heaven.
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At our home we only have one computer and it sits in the living-room – can you get any more “safe” than that?
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You need to do more than just put the computer in a main room, when I was younger my friends and I talked about EVERYTHING through IM and my parents were sitting on the couch in the same room. You need to physically check what your kids are talking about and looking at, most kids know how to hid/disguise things they know they aren’t supposed to be doing, or they don’t truly understand what they are getting themselves into.
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Great point T…like I said, we don’t give teens enough credit on how much they know…
I hope some parents reading this take what you say seriously because your honesty sheds light on something very real and true. That’s why I offer surveillance to my family and friends who have children under 17. They get a report every week of EVERYTHING that’s said/exchanged/watched/typed/searched/posted, etc. You get the point. These aren parents that aren’t leaving things to chance.
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Honestly, ill admit im a teen myself and i personally know that exposure is bad and im addicted to porn myself and well, its a dangerous place but its not too bad of an addiction, it doesnt harm anyone and we do have common sence and wont go out and meet people well most of us anyways i do know a few of my friends that went in groups to meet people they met via the internet
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So this article looks at only ONE danger on the internet….predators. But, deny it as you may, most parents are completely oblivious to who their teens really are…we don’t give them enough credit. They know that they need to behave a certain way infront of parents, but act another way completely with friends, etc.
I’m not saying all kids/teens behave badly, but I am saying media is a huge influence on what teens imitate. Essentially, some maybe even living a “double life”. Just one example, underage girls posting provocative photos on social networking sites and being contacted by adult men. Some girls even lying about their age because they love the attention. And don’t fool yourself into thinking your teens aren’t meeting these people online. Just browse around myspace or facebook yourself. For every 5 teen profiles, 4 are sexually charged and inappropriate. Don’t blame the sites themselves…that’s just like blaming television content as being inappropriate for your kids…you need to be responsible for your children and make sure YOU know what they’re up to. And don’t let them play the “privacy” card on you. In your home, privacy is a privelege, not a right! As long as they’re dependents living in your home, the level of privacy allowed is what you, the parents, say is allowed.
A great place to start: don’t allow your kids to have their own computers in their bedrooms. Kitchens, family rooms, even corners in living rooms make great “public” areas to have your home computers.
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I really admire all teens posting their comments here, I really do.
I’m a father of two, one almost a teenager and the other not quite yet. However both of them know enough about computers, internet, etc.
I’m a systems administrator myself and I know that not all parents are or have the same tech knowledge, but as some teens have mentioned, we have to learn to trust them, but not only that, parents: listen! Please, please, please tell your children that you LOVE them, that you care for the them, that you TRUST them.
They are looking for ACCEPTANCE and if you as parents don’t do it, they will try to find it somewhere else, and most of the time they end up in the wrong places. This is not only true about the Internet, but in *all* areas of their life.
Teens are so precious and they should be treated a such!!
I don’t miss a moment to tell my *little princess* that I love her.
I believe that more important than “internet filters, firewalls, spyware, etc, etc.” is an open dialog with our children and the reafirmation that our precious children *are a gift of God*.
Way to go teens! I realy admire you!
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Joe, that is a wonderful outlook to have. Your children are lucky and I hope that they may recognize that.
Very important is to guide the children to know what is safe. This article spells it out well.
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bill gates and his kind can do everthing to find what ever for china and the like. but will allow all this filth and pain to run all over the world . my only wish is that some day all of them, will have to feel the blood and pain on their money.and have to face thier own dirty parts of denial.
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yes, the internet is dangerous, in some places.
it’s like dangers of drowning at the beach. the beach mostly has shallow calm spots, some moderately heavy waves as well as a dangerous part with rocks and a rip tide.
there’s no danger as long as you stay away from the rip tide.
I didn’t.
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I agree completely with your post, It is the parents responsibility to protect their kids from the dangers of the internet. All the tools you mentioned are great measures to take, but they do not mean anything unless the parents talk with the kids. After all, it is very easy to do that, just take a look!
http://yovia.com/blogs/chatman/2010/05/04/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-on-internet-safety/?gcid=1677
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