Mostly everyone who's come out of the 21st century knows that the Internet is a wild frontier for children left to their own devices. Even my own mother is on the internet, and has already inadvertently wreaked havoc by clicking on an email sent to my dad by his russian 'sweetheart'. The resulting devastation caused by that little virus set his business back a couple of weeks.
I've been conducting a little parent survey, and two relevant issues pop out at me: internet filtering and net monitoring. Internet filters are mostly a software based approach like Safe Eyes Parental Control Suite where the parent uses either algorithmic filters or manually entered sites which are then used to curtail the child's access to the web. Net monitoring is typically a hardware, but can be a software oriented approach to scan the activities of all users online.
Most of my parents are strongly in agreement with internet filters. 75% are strongly supportive of this method. Correspondingly while everyone is also in favour of net monitoring, only 54% of parents are strongly supportive of this measure of internet control.
I have been involved with internet and e-commerce businesses since the 1990s, before the Internet was in vogue. So let me tell you my two cents worth as a parent.
An internet filters is not your magic bullet. Internet filters work by trying to guess whether a site is suitable or not for your child. Manually entering sites that a child cannot see is practically useless, there's just too many sites that are out there, and you're not going to keep an inquisitive child at bay. Don't forget that internet filters mostly work on websites and not on other chat based programs or file sharing services. Meaning that you could literally send tonnes of illicit stuff through snail mail under the very nose of your internet filter. PLease not there are simple ways around some internet filter using free online services, which I won't mention here (but which have been available for the last 15 years). Once your child cottons on, it's almost like they're able to walk through walls.
Net monitoring is not that difficult to set up and allows you to see what surfing activities your child has been up to. Some platforms like Windows Vista and above come with Parental Controls. Otherwise you may even use a discrete keystroke logger to help you understand what's going on out-of-sight. Of course you may think that monitoring is usually after the fact, which it is, and you are right.
Child safety online means you've got to include an internet safety lecture along with your sex education classes for your child. They have got to be empowered and aware of the positives and the dangers awaiting them online. Their responsibility is to use pre-agreed sites in a pre-agreed upon manner, and they should be collaborating with you whilst working online. You should also take an active interest and overview their activities to ensure a high level of child safety online. This could mean situation the computer in a highly visible location and to occasionally inquire about their progress online.
Acceptable use should include what not to download, what emails or messages to delete, people to ban, and search engines to use. Children should know how much information they should share with strangers or with friends. Do you want your child to chat with their friends online? Exchange emails? And before you think that it's just your child's information, know that if your mobile number is entered on some sites (recently connected with FaceBook), you could be in for some surprises - like $6 charged to your mobile phone per messages sent to you. All it takes is for your child to unwittingly sign up to some services like an innocent IQ Testing for such things to happen. Think about all of this and come up with an appropriate policy you all are comfortable with before your child spends a significant amount of time online. You can't turn the tap off after it's turned on!
Please check out the government's CyberSmart Parent Advice for more information on the topic.
If you want to set up your computer to filter and monitor for free, let me know.
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