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FREE CHAT ROOMS ARTICLES - CHAT ROOMS
TIPS
What a Parent Must Do to Stop Online
Predators
by Alexandra Gamanenko
To monitor or not to monitor kids online -- that's a question
millions of parents face. On the one hand, software for
monitoring kids' online behavior is a relief for ever-busy
Moms and Dads. On the other hand, parents should be very
careful when relying on technology in such a delicate
matter as parental control.
Teens can freely access the Internet from computers at
school, at their friends' homes and in public places such
as libraries and even from cell phones and video game
consoles. Internet is everywhere, that is why kids and
teenagers (and their parents, too) should be well aware
of its dangers to avoid them.
Here are some figures from the telephone survey made by
the Pew Internet and American Life Project:
65% of all parents and 64% of all teens say that teens
do things online that they wouldn't want their parents
to know about.
These "things" usually means visiting sites
parents find "questionable" or "inappropriate",
for example, so-called adult content. And, of course,
chatting online.
What kids say in chat rooms, whom they communicate with
and what they post on web logs and other public Internet
places can get them into much more serious trouble than
just viewing porn.
81% of parents of online teens say that teens aren't careful
enough when giving out information about themselves online
and 79% of online teens agree with this.
Sometimes teenagers post online their first and last names,
postal addresses, phone numbers, pictures and give lots
of personal information about themselves. It enables a
predator easily identify and find this teen.
Unfortunately, sex predators teem in cyberspace. Sometimes
they immediately start sexually explicit conversations
with children. If a kid or a teen is forewarned and taught
to end such a conversation immediately, he or she is relatively
safe, except for moral damage from such a talk.
But there are others. They gradually allure their future
victims by attention, affection, kindness, and even gifts.
These individuals usually devote much time, money, and
energy to this process. They listen to childrenand pretend
to empathize with their problems. They even are aware
of the latest music, hobbies, and interests of children.
Some time later this person may succeed in arranging a
face-to-face meeting with the kid -- you can guess what
for.
Such crimes are on the rise, so there are now even special
units where law enforcement officers pose as children
in chat rooms to lure predators into a trap.
The problem is so serious that Federal Bureau of Investigation
had to launch Crimes Against Children (CAC) Program in
1997. So every parent should read and memorize tips from
"A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety" http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm
There are rules any teen should learn by heart: don't
believe everything they are told on-line, never reveal
your name, age, birthday, graduation year, nickname or
any other personal information while chatting.
Parents should talk to their children about online dangers.
Moms and Dads must encourage their sons and daughters
tell them about their online acquaintances, without fear
of being scolded of punished.
But should parents use monitoring software? It's a difficult
question. Software for parental control is a useful tool,
only if applied right.
My opinion is that monitoring software is "strong
medicine". Like any medicine, it has its own side
effects that can be worse than the disease. Any medicine,
if overused, can do harm. Computer monitoring is the last
resort, when all the other means are exhausted. Don't
do it just because you think you should.
Using monitoring software will be appropriate if you feel
you are losing control of the situation, or have lost
it already.
For example, your teenage son or daughter seems to be
completely withdrawn from family.
You don't know his/her friends well enough--maybe you
even haven't seen them and doubt whether they exist at
all. You have no idea whom he/she is chatting with. Your
teenager receives phone calls from people you don't know
or is making long-distance calls to numbers you don't
recognize.
Your son or daughter gets letters, gifts or packages from
people you haven't heard about.
Every day he/she spends hours on the computer, especially
at night. when you enter the room he/she changes the screen.
Maybe you found pornography on your child's computer.
If your child uses an online account that belongs to someone
else, you also should be alarmed.
Don't keep the computer in your child's bedroom. In fact,
nearly three-quarters of home computers are located in
a place like living room, according to the survey. A wise
thing to do. If your child uses the Internet in a living
room, it is easier to watch what he or she is doing online.
And, of course, there is a great variety of monitoring
software products. Their purposes may vary from simply
recording the time the computer is on/off to logging every
keystroke your kid makes. Use one of them if you are sure
it is absolutely necessary. But remember that your kid
might be more technically savvy than you. Lots of them
can erase their traces.
At any case, you must let your kid know you care for his
or her safety -- both offline and online.
About the Author
Alexandra Gamanenko currently works at Raytown Corporation,
LLC -- an independent monitoring and anti-monitoring software
developing company that provides various solutions for
information security.
Learn more -- visit the company's website
www.softsecurity.com |
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