The Internet and Your Child

Risks and Dangers of the Internet

The second half of the 20th century brought the Internet into our homes. Unlike television, the Internet is a virtual population center of human activity, in which the user can participate with a few keystrokes on his computer.

Swiftly the Internet traffic grew and attracted our children's attention. They go to it on school computers, on homes computers, at their friends' house, on library computers and even at grandma's house. They took to the new media like fish take to water. It is no wonder; the Internet is dubbed their new playground. ¹

Playgrounds are places where fun rules. And their activities provide training to practice valuable life skills. The Internet is no exception. It provides educational, social, and analytical skills training to our youth. Thus it offers too valuable of an experience for a child not to be involved in its educational promises.

The Risks of the Internet

The threat of physical danger is rare on the Internet. But this new playground does host a small population that spreads hatred, pornographic material, and seeks to commercially prey.

Our young ones are not always the prime targets of these nefarious activities. But an innocent child is easily ensnared within these amoral webs during a first unsupervised encounter. Such an encounter may prove to be life altering.

The objectives of this note are twofold. First, to discuss the risks and dangers that our children are likely to face on the Internet. Second, to offer suggestions to strengthen your child against most Internet dangers.

The Rewards of the Internet

The rewards of the Internet are many: Entertainment, instant communication, expression of one's thoughts via web pages or through chat room participation, communication via email, visits to resources of cultural, scientific, and current importance; all with a few computer keystrokes.

Surveys document that children use the Internet responsibly. They do homework, communicate by email, text message, send instant messages, go to chat rooms, make scrapbooks, swap music, play games, construct games, create websites, write stories and some present content.