The Internet is an amazing tool for everyone. It can help students do research for their favourite topic on accredited online colleges sites for homework assignments, it allows people to work from home and it can be used for pure entertainment. No matter what the reason, the Internet can be quite the powerful tool.
While parents want their kids to be social and active with other kids their age, there are so many online social networking websites that young kids and teens are using these days. The problem is there could be a lot of problems with the Internet involving your child’s safety. Here are some Internet safety tips for kids.
Teach your kids about Internet safety and the dangers of talking to strangers online. It’s always recommended to have the computer with the Internet in the open. If the computer is in the kitchen or living room, you will be able to monitor what your kids are doing online and whom exactly they are talking to.
If your kid is on Facebook or MySpace than make sure to have their log in information to monitor who they talk to. This might seem like an invasion of privacy, but remember they are kids and they have no idea who they are really talking to. How much you should keep track of will depend on which sites they’re on, how old they are and how much time is spent on the Internet.
If you’re uncomfortable going in to your child’s account, create a profile on each site your child is on and add them as a “friend.” This way you can see monitor their profiles without actually going into their account. You can also use your account to spot anyone lurking on your child’s account.
The Internet is a vast place where many people go to for information, resources and to find friends. Finding and meeting new people online has fast become a popular way to meet new people and to stay in the know on what’s going on in their friends lives. The newest craze of social networking and “friending” has caused its own set of challenges within the Internet world. With it comes cyber-bullying, which is a way that people online use to intimidate and harass others. Cyber-bullying, which is really bullying done over the Internet, has created a new challenge for school administrations and law enforcement personnel to have to deal with and find ways to resolve a growing problem.
Cyber-bullying works primarily through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, but can certainly occur through email too. The person who is doing the bullying usually starts out as an innocent friend, or as someone who is genuinely interested in being friendly with someone. Although this may seem harmless, what starts out innocently looking can quickly escalate into a problem that becomes out of control.
Cyber-bullies get to hide behind their computer screens. This gives them the mystery and anonymity that they want to have to be able to bully people. Because it’s all done virtually, it’s also a way for them to “hide” themselves and not take responsibility for the things that say and spread over the web. They often mistakenly believe that their identities will not be discovered.
To combat the growing problem of cyber-bullying, people need to be aware of the people that they talk to and friend on online forums. If they do know the person that they’re talking to and there is a bullying situation occurring, they should quickly bring it to the attention of the school’s administration and authorities if possible.
