A recent C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health came to the following conclusions:
- Almost ½ of children 9-17 have profiles on social-networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. (The number increases to almost 2/3 for children 13-17)
- 2/3rd of the parents who let their kids go online said they’re concerned about sexual predators on the Internet
- 1/2 of the parents worry about their children seeing pornography online
- BUT: 81% of children aged 9-17 use the Internet WITHOUT adult supervision
It seems that a lot of parents are concerned about their children’s online behavior, but fail to monitor that behavior. There are a few reasons for this. Either parents are just lazy—which I do not believe—or they are afraid of invading their children’s private lives. The idea that the internet is a private space is a fallacy, as this recent post points out, and the sooner our children understand this fact, the sooner they will be able to use the internet correctly and ethically, avoiding many potential problems with real-world consequences.
The Internet is Not a Private Space
You wouldn’t let your 7-year-old talk to strange adults at the park without finding out what the conversation was about, would you? Then why would you let them enter cyberspace without any monitoring systems in place to track their online interactions?
The false sense of anonymity that the internet provides not only opens up the door to potential predators, but it also gives your children a false sense that no one can track what they do online. If they think they are anonymous and no one is watching them, they are far more likely to chat with strangers and visit pornographic and other dangerous sites.
Teach them that the internet is not a private space, but a public one, and let them know that you are aware of what they are doing. Not so that you can catch them in the act or invade their “private” lives, but so that they will be on their best behavior when online, just as if they were out in public.
21st Century Criminals
Criminals are moving into the 21st century as fast, or faster, than average citizens and even law enforcement by adopting web 2.0 technology and social media for nefarious purposes. A recent article in the Oklahoman, points out that gangs are using social media, like Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube to recruit members who are still in elementary school (as young as 10 years old).
If you don’t want your children associating with gangs at school or in your neighborhood (in the REAL world), you can’t let them loose online and expect that the gang members and other criminals have not yet figured out how to turn on a computer.
A Public Space
The point of all this is to make parents aware that the internet is only a virtual extension of our personal lives into an public space, and we should treat going online just as we would treat going out to the store or down to the park. All the same rules should apply.
When your child gets home from school, you ask them what they did. When they get off the computer you should ask them same thing. Just like you have regular parent-teacher conferences to discuss how your child is doing at school, make a habit of regularly checking their online activity.
Checking up on their online activity is not an invasion of privacy, it is the action of a responsible and caring parent who wants to keep their children safe.
Search your neighborhood crime map at CrimeReports.com
