Parents and carers therefore first need to know about the possible hazards to children and young people on the Internet and, in turn, they need to know how to deal with them. This publication aims to meet those needs.
We have tried to avoid using any technical jargon as much as possible, but sometimes it is impossible.
What is the Internet?
Across the world, universities, art galleries, museums, research institutes, schools, newspapers, TV and radio stations, banks, charities, youth organisations, all sorts of commercial companies and private individuals, are putting information, pictures, sounds, software, goods or services for sale on to computers and computer networks and allowing other computers to access them. This network of interconnected computers and networks is what is commonly referred to as the Internet.
The educational possibilities of the Internet are tremendous. It has become a vast library that you can bring into your home, and usually all for the cost of a local telephone call. And there’s lots of scope for all sorts of other activities. With the latest software, much of which is free, the Internet is very easy to use. People with little or no knowledge or previous experience of computers can quickly learn the basics.
Arguably there has never before been anything quite like the Internet. Never before have we seen a single, common device, such as a computer, with so many different capabilities and which is relatively cheap as well as being very widely available. Increasingly we are also going to be able to get on to the Internet without having to have a computer at all. Internet access is being integrated into mobile phones and TV sets, and that’s only for starters.
When you hook up to the Internet you are not just gaining access to a shopping mall, the Post Office, a telephone, a teacher, public and private meetings places, a research centre, a music system and a games machine one-by-one, you are gaining access to all of these things and more. We all need to start thinking about this development in entirely new and novel ways.
A many splendid thing
The Internet can be many things to many people:
Through electronic mail, normally known as e-mail, it can be a way of exchanging messages very rapidly with people anywhere in the world.
Through something called Usenet Groups, or Newsgroups (which are a bit like electronic bulletin boards), it can be a means of keeping in touch with people who share an interest in a particular subject, such as stamp collecting, films or whatever: the list is almost endless and you can always start new groups if necessary.
It can be a way of chatting with other people, in Chat Rooms, normally by typing messages that are sent, received and viewed more or less simultaneously.
By linking a microphone to a PC it is also possible to use the Internet to make telephone calls.
Instant messaging works a bit like Chat Rooms do and is becoming very popular: one of the most popular systems enables people to be notified whenever a particular person logs on to their computer anywhere in the world so they can then, if they want, meet with their friends online and chat.
As web cams (special cameras that work with computers) are becoming cheaper and easier to acquire and use, people can even see each other over the Internet and conduct conversations.
Live video-conferencing as well as TV and radio broadcasts from stations all over the world are also becoming more and more accessible to people as the Internet’s capacity grows and telephone call charges continue to fall.
It can be a way of checking news stories, making travel and holiday reservations, banking, or buying a broad range of goods or services (some of which you can first inspect on-screen), trading in stocks and shares or getting involved in many other forms of e-commerce.
Often when buying goods or services online we use encryption: an electronic means of converting the information we are sending over the Internet into a secure secret code which can only be unscrambled by the person or company intended to receive it, but encryption can also be used to hide things we do not want others to see.
It can be a way of picking up or exchanging information or files, helping with homework or the kids’ school projects.
The Internet is a bit like a big modern city
Most of today’s adults learnt how to be streetwise from their parents, who in turn had learnt it from their parents. With the Internet, there isn’t really an older generation around who can pass on their accumulated wisdom and experience to the next. That’s where this publication can help fill the gap.
It has long been taken for granted that we must ensure our older children are streetwise before we let them go off on their own in our modern towns and cities, and when younger children go into the city they should be accompanied by an adult at all times. We teach children to be wary of strangers, not to go with, or accept gifts or lifts from, people they do not know, and so on.
In many ways the Internet is just like a big modern city. It has all sorts of people in it and there are all sorts of places within its boundaries. The great majority of the people are perfectly decent and respectful of others, and the great majority of places are entirely safe for anyone. But sadly that is not true of everyone or everywhere.
So today, before we let our children go on the Internet, before we let them go online, we must also ensure that they are NetSmart: that they are streetwise in cyberspace.
This guide explains the NetSmart idea and sets out in detail the NetSmart rules. It also explains some of the basic terms and ideas used everyday on the Internet. If you are not already familiar with the NetSmart idea have a look at the NetSmart rules now. Whatever your age they will always stand you in good stead.
Take an interest in what your children do online
The Internet is truly a medium which adults and children can share to the great advantage of both. It is already being widely used in our schools and across the educational system. More and more young people are using it not just to do their homework, but also for all kinds of fun and games and to communicate with their friends. Young people by and large seem to have had no difficulty adapting to the Internet.
Children and young people all need a certain amount of privacy but they also need parental involvement in their daily lives. You need to become engaged with how your child uses the Internet. Familiarise yourself with how your child uses the Internet. Regularly ask them to show you the places they go on the Web and ask them how else they use the Internet. You should know who they are sending emails to and who they are receiving them from. You should know if they frequent Chat Rooms or subscribe to Newsgroups and you should understand what they do when they go to these places.
And who knows? If you too become NetSmart you might even start finding that you get a lot more out of the Internet for yourself, never mind that satisfying feeling that, for once at least, you know as much as your children do!
The best-laid plans
If you use parental control software, you might think you have taken adequate steps to protect your child but please be aware that:
- A determined child might nonetheless be able to circumvent any protective software or security measures. By taking care not to disclose relevant passwords or PIN numbers this can be made nearly impossible;
- There may be occasions when the protective software is not working: check that it hasn’t been switched off;
- There may be occasions when your children use computers elsewhere, eg at friends’ houses or in Internet Cafes;
- Friends might come to visit and bring discs with them containing material which would otherwise have been picked up and blocked or diverted, or your children might swap discs at school or elsewhere;
- In the UK it is very easy to obtain CDs which will automatically and immediately establish a new, subscription-free Internet account that may not work with software previously installed on the machine;
- Some of the more undesirable elements on the Internet might find ways to evade the security systems that you or your ISP have installed.
The possible pitfalls
The problems your child might encounter on the Internet fall into three broad categories:
Excessive use leading to a neglect of homework, outdoor or other social activities, and heavy telephone bills accidentally.
Deliberately or unwittingly accessing inappropriate material: pictures, sounds or texts which are either dangerous, pornographic, offensive or unacceptable in some other way.
Otherwise making inappropriate contact with individuals who may wish to cause them harm. We deal with each of these in turn below.
Inappropriate contacts
Children and young people often love the interactive elements of the Internet: the ability to send and receive instant messages, email or to take part in Chat Rooms. The problem is that because you normally cannot actually see the person you are communicating with, and because it is relatively easy to fake an identity online, you cannot be certain the person is who they say they are. Equally, because security on the Internet can sometimes be quite slack, you cannot be certain that someone else is not reading your messages or silently watching your conversation in a Chat Room and perhaps gleaning valuable information which they can later put to bad use.
Young people therefore need to know that unless and until they are absolutely certain of the identity of someone they are communicating with, they should proceed with caution and not necessarily accept everything a person says online at face value. Electronic signatures and encryption might eventually be able to help, as might the greater traceability of Internet users. But these are tomorrow’s solutions rather than today’s.
Children need to know about this kind of online stranger danger and they need to be on their guard. On this site we have provided a copy of the NetSmart rules. Go through them individually and reach an agreement with your children about how they will behave online.
Parental control software is available which can help you underpin or enforce the rules and agreements you make with your children: find out more here. Among other things this software can control who your child might send emails to or receive them from. The software can also block access to all or some Newsgroups or Chat Rooms. Newsgroups and Chat Rooms have been known to attract unsavoury types who sometimes pretend to be young people seeking contacts with other youngsters. Occasionally this had led to requests to exchange child pornography or even, in rare cases, for meetings where the fraudster might be hoping to abuse a child sexually or exploit them in some other way.
In the printed version of this guide we have put the NetSmart rules on a piece of card at the end. You can tear out the card and sellotape or blu-tac it to the wall next to the computers. If you are reading this on the Internet and want to do something similar, you could always print off the NetSmart rules and stick them on a piece of card to achieve the same result.
Because Chat Rooms in particular can be misused, many parents might be concerned to ensure that their children, especially their younger children, use only moderated chat rooms, ie Chat Rooms where a trained adult is normally present whenever the Chat Room is open and who is authorised to intervene to stop any exchanges which take an inappropriate turn. Ask your ISP if they provide moderated Chat services and, if they do, ask them about the policies which are enforced in the Chat Room, and about the training given to and checking done on the backgrounds of the people who are employed by them as moderators. Please note that some ISPs who claim to have moderated Chat Rooms don’t actually have a person there all the time. They might dip in and out occasionally, or use software to alert them if certain predetermined words appear in a conversation. Obviously such systems are likely to be less effective, so ask. For more detailed advice and guidance on Chat Rooms click here.
Inappropriate material
It is possible, when typing an address in a web browser, or when using search engines, to mis-type a word or try to guess an address. You can then end up on a site or in a place you never intended to be. Equally we have to recognise that young people are sometimes extremely curious about all sorts of things and they might use the Internet’s power to access material which they would otherwise never normally be able to see.
It is therefore advisable for you to stress the importance of correctly typing in addresses and to discuss and agree rules about the sorts of sites and materials it is acceptable for your child to access over the Internet.
The fact that children sometimes disobey their parents’ or carers’ advice or guidance, or break rules that have been set or agreements that have been made, is nothing new, but that is not a reason not to have those rules or agreements and it is certainly not a reason for not trying to ensure as best you can that the rules and agreements are honoured.
Again, parental control software can help. In general the software will block access to certain types of web sites, those with sexual or violent themes for example, or prevent specified types of pictures or words from reaching your child’s computer screen. But be aware of the software’s shortcomings and be aware also that technology is in the end no substitute for a sensible agreement that your children respect. Find more information about parental control software here.
Excessive use
It is clearly important in every family or classroom for there to be an agreed basis for using computers and the Internet which allows for all the other things children must attend to, including getting some fresh air and exercise!
There are no hard and fast rules about what is and is not "excessive". It will vary from child to child and on the circumstances from week to week. If a child has a lot of research to do for some homework they might need to make more use of the computer and the Internet on some days than others. Each family or class needs to have its own understanding and rules. The school’s Head of IT might be able to advise or help.
The key point about computers, however, is that, because they can be used for so many different things, it is quite easy for a child to rapidly switch from one activity to another. So every time a parent looks or knocks on the door, it could seem that they are industriously carrying out their assigned tasks. The minimise button has been a great bonus for covert games players!
There is parental control software available which can control the times that a computer might be used to access the Internet, to control the amount of time it will function at all or which will even control which programmes can be accessed and at what times. To find out more about parental control software kids.getnetwise.org.
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