Does anybody else think that children
shouldn't be allowed to use the internet on their own?
Now when I say children, I mean those under the age of 16.
I believe that their internet activities should be constantly moderated by a
parent/gaurdian.
My reason for this is only because of how susceptible children are.
Your opinions?
EDIT: I AM NOT A PARENT. I JUST DON'T LIKE
SEEING CHILDREN ON THE INTERNET.
No they should not be restricted but they should be monitored and educated by
their parents. Problem is that too many parents don't do that great a job (not
that its their fault entirely since it is kinda hard to explain things to very
young children) because they either don't care, are to embarrassed, or are to
uncertain as to how to handle the situation. Also far to many parents rely upon
teachers or others to instill this knowledge when teachers only get to see the
kids for relatively short periods of time.
Be proactive. Yes you will make mistakes, but if you have any form of common
sense at all its relatively easy to learn from those mistakes. Education is the
key.
Quote "In todays society common sense is all to uncommon"
Well, I think that besides the parents, there should be a greater effort in
restricting children of a certain age onto certain sites, like the adult
ones.
I do think that 16 is too much, though. I just turned 16 this. I've been an
active member of the internet community since I was 12, and rarely see anything
more inappropriate than what I find in manga unless I go looking for
it.
I also believe that the maturity of the child himself should also be taken into
account. Some people know better at an earlier age than others. Parenting plays
a big role. If the child is taught well by their parents and have some common
sense, than they shouldn't get into too much trouble.
There are all these statistics saying the internet is 80% pornography (or close
to) but as DarthTofu said, you generally don't run across is unless you go
looking for it. Children should be aloud to use the internet freely as there is
an abundance of useful information.
I find the problem is that parents aren't technologically abled. That is, when
they hear someone say they should 'monitor' their childs internet usage, to most
parents that would mean standing over their shoulder and watching them surf the
net.
Even if they are young, to stand over your childs shoulder is basically invasion
of privacy (at least when using the net to communicate with friends) and very
un-nerving for most. To effectively monitor someones internet access the common
methods are watching: browsing history, cookies, temporary net files, recent
documents and so on.
A few kids may know how to clear the browsing history but, as listed, there many
things people wouldn't have a clue how to clear let alone view. The issue is
double bladed as if you were to teach parents how to view all the extras then
the children would also learn how and be clearing those as well.
Quote by littlejonny100There are
all these statistics saying the internet is 80% pornography (or close to) but as
DarthTofu said, you generally don't run across is unless you go looking for
it.
I would challenge that assumption. Online advertising, popups, spy/adware are so
prevalent that pornographic or otherwise very sexual graphics are quite common
place. When children go googling, the results returned can easily contain things
that children should not see.
That said, the solution is better filtering technology. The internet is too
valuable a learning tool to bar children completely.
The best thing to do in cases such as these is to open a separate account for
the children in question. Then you max out the parental controls and let them at
it!
And if you find a bologna and cheese sandwich in the CD/DVD drive and quarters
in the floppy.......
i don't think the internet should be restricted at all, i was using it to do
just about everything from age 12. i would have lost out on alot if i had been
restricted from using it or had been supervised.
The more and more we restrict them... the more and more they will want to do
what it is that they cannot. The internet can be a very dangerous place,
however, that is why we have parents that KNOW how to discipline their children
correctly. If there should be any monitoring, only monitoring of how long one
may stay on the internet. Too much of something is always bad anyways. So in
that, time limits should be accounted for that way, these "children"
won't be so addicted, thus helping to produce a life outside cyberspace, which
it should always be.
Quote by DarthTofuI also believe that
the maturity of the child himself should also be taken into account. Some people
know better at an earlier age than others. Parenting plays a big role. If the
child is taught well by their parents and have some common sense, than they
shouldn't get into too much trouble.
Ah... Yes, very much true. At the age of 15, I was only concerned with doing my
homework.
But this isn't the case for other teens.
A study done by Pew Internet (a non-profit research center studying the social
effects of the Internet on Americans), reports that "many teens post their
first name and photos on their profiles". While they failed to mention the
identified age group in that report, another report specified that "close
to 60% of [youth ages 12 through 17] have received an instant message or an
email from a stranger and 50% report emailing or instant messaging with someone
they have not met before". Just
some facts.
Quote by littlejonny100I find the
problem is that parents aren't technologically abled. That is, when they hear
someone say they should 'monitor' their childs internet usage, to most parents
that would mean standing over their shoulder and watching them surf the
net.
Hah! Don't I know how that is. My parents do that and for all they know I
could've been hacking into the Pentagon! (
)
The statistics say that "95% of parents couldn't identify common chat room
lingo that teenagers use to warn people they're chatting with that their parents
are watching".* But still, "almost half (49%) of parents . . . do not
know if they have, software on their computer that blocks specific websites or
key words". So, parents are generally unaware of how to use the technology
they themsleves buy . . .
Citation #1
*NetSmartz is a registered trademark of the National Center for Missing &
Exploited Children.
merged: 05-15-2007 ~ 12:52pm
Quote by kamikazekazuoToo much of
something is always bad anyways. So in that, time limits should be accounted for
that way, these "children" won't be so addicted, thus helping to
produce a life outside cyberspace, which it should always
be.
Dude... I give you props for that. My parents should've done that. I really
think so. So, that even if that they don't know how to use it, if they told me
"...you only get an hour to do your essay and I'm turning off the
computer", you can bet that I'll only be working on my essay.
not at all. My bro, who is 10 does fine and usually looks up stuff that
interests him, usually yugioh/pokemon/online games and such, and if they do
google stuff, that safesearch thing in google is on anyhow. the pc is in a main
area anyway so someone is always seeing who is doing what, more or less
anyway
the younger of my two sisters (14) manages fine and usually floats on bebo or
looking up her favourite bands and chatting to friends anyway
If you really are paranoid you can get software such as netnanny and put limits
on it for the young ones
I'm too lazy to read all the posts so I'll just write my own opinion
16 is definitely way too high up
Internet is a valuable source for a lot of things
I began using the internet when i was about........ 8 or 9 I believe......
learning how to use the email and made an account
I actually began using the internet when I was....... 12?..... when I joined
MT
That was my real starting point of the internet use
Besides that I only used it for homework resource
Although it is true there are a lot of pornographic/other visuals and materials
not suitable for the young aged, internet shouldn't be restricted to
them
The parents just need to be responsible for their child's online activities
There are other methods to "monitor" their child's internet usage but
because theres a lot of computer illiterate parents at this current generation,
it's not expected of them to. Just monitor internet traffic like what the NSA
does but through a router...
Personally, I don't think you should restrict internet material, unless you
purposely search for it then you'll find the utterly disturbing stuff. Else they
really should be fine. I think that more restriction really doesn't do much for
a child thats developing... Also, because we're entering an electronic era, I
really don't think we should be leaving a child to computer illiteracy.
I have to disagree.
There are certain websites where children should not have to privilege to
access.
On the contrary, they can host them as entertainment since we live in such a
dull world.
Cheayeah.
actually i agree with you. well maybe not completely, 16 is too old. my personal
opinion would be from 14 on. i personally think that as years go by the internet
gets worst. The only reason they should be allowed in the internet, would be as
a research tool. But then again mostly every internet providers are coming up
with parental control so children won't be exposed to the dark side of the
internet.
Well like many people said before, the key is proper filtering. Kids should not
be banned from the internet, but some of the content on it should be unavailable
for them to watch. A lot of parents don't know how to do that or they think
"my kid is so good, he'll never watch things like pornography!" not
knowing, that it's sometimes just appearing in popouts by itself etc. Tbh the
education should start from the parents so they
would know how to controle their children's internet acces. And 16 sounds also
too old for me, I would say 14-15.
Common Sense for parentals - Get a pop-up bocer Or
use firefox. <33 There is usually only sexual ads on websites that have
slight sexual agender to them.
I would have to agree with the 14-15 though. My cousin is 11? And his a computer
unie. And that's WITHOUT the internet on his computer. n.n It's scary. I predict
when his 30 he'll be living in his moms basement doing naughties to porn. Without a
female present. Haha.. I'm so mean. x.x -shuts up-
What was my point here.. Oh.. Ugh, My mom use to limit my time [when I was
younger, about 15? Till midnight, which is alot when you think about it.] And the
computer was in the lounge room. But, was really unnerving.
I agree with Kyoo69. Some things should be unavailable for them. I don't think
restriction is a solution.
Internet is an extremly useful tool, it would me very sad for them not to use
it.
16? man... your harsh. I mean common. The parent will know best, simply because
they deal with their kids everyday, so that means that they will know that
maturity level of their kid. I really dont think that 16, or any other age is
appropriate. I mean the kid can have access to anything, as long as the parent
know its right for his/hers age.
On that said, i think there really is not age for... internet, violence, and
all that (Accept porn) cos the kid should know better, and if not, thats where
the parent steps in! :|
As far as children go, I think spyware or malware is a far bigger threat than
porn when surfing the internet, especially if the child in question isn't
familiar with the workings of computers and the build of OS systems. Of course,
in that regard, parents can be just as bad.
It's sad, but to surf the internet these days, you should very well learn the
workings of your PC before you start connecting it to the internet. A lot of
commercial banners are made for people who buy their computers and internet
premade. Just think about the ErrorSafe/DriveCleaner ads we had even here on
Minitokyo. There are those of you who wrote threads because it had invaded your
own PCs. Lesser knowledgeable people might believe what it said and gone along
with the scam.
Porn isn't the problem anymore. Scams, unauthorized malware installations,
phishing, chain-mails... it's a bad world wide web out there, and if you're not
prepared to at least a little degree, you will find your PC raped to the bottom
of your wallet before you know what the hell happened.
16 o.0 I've used the internet since I was 14 and I know more about it than
anyone in my family...
My parents TRUST me, they tell me the truth not like most parents that cover it
up with "political-correct words" Since I was
14 I knew there's porn and pedophiles on the internet, my solution is
always:
-Don't click the pop-ups close them; they're usually porn or websites full of
viruses
-Don't talk to people that seem strange, a.k.a Pedophiles, like on Myspace or
even here I'm always careful of what I write, etcetera...
And it's work, and if people would just do that, I think there wouldn't be soooo
many problems when people talk about the internet
But that's just me...
16? i started using the computer at the age of 9, and i am allowed because of
the trust from my parents , and not to talk to people who are like what lunagata
had mention and everything else
Does anybody else think that children shouldn't be allowed to use the internet on their own?
Now when I say children, I mean those under the age of 16.
I believe that their internet activities should be constantly moderated by a parent/gaurdian.
My reason for this is only because of how susceptible children are.
Your opinions?
EDIT: I AM NOT A PARENT. I JUST DON'T LIKE SEEING CHILDREN ON THE INTERNET.
No they should not be restricted but they should be monitored and educated by their parents. Problem is that too many parents don't do that great a job (not that its their fault entirely since it is kinda hard to explain things to very young children) because they either don't care, are to embarrassed, or are to uncertain as to how to handle the situation. Also far to many parents rely upon teachers or others to instill this knowledge when teachers only get to see the kids for relatively short periods of time.
Be proactive. Yes you will make mistakes, but if you have any form of common sense at all its relatively easy to learn from those mistakes. Education is the key.
Quote "In todays society common sense is all to uncommon"
Well, I think that besides the parents, there should be a greater effort in restricting children of a certain age onto certain sites, like the adult ones.
I do think that 16 is too much, though. I just turned 16 this. I've been an active member of the internet community since I was 12, and rarely see anything more inappropriate than what I find in manga unless I go looking for it.
I also believe that the maturity of the child himself should also be taken into account. Some people know better at an earlier age than others. Parenting plays a big role. If the child is taught well by their parents and have some common sense, than they shouldn't get into too much trouble.
i think it should be the parents desgresian, but i dount think that they should go all out
There are all these statistics saying the internet is 80% pornography (or close to) but as DarthTofu said, you generally don't run across is unless you go looking for it. Children should be aloud to use the internet freely as there is an abundance of useful information.
I find the problem is that parents aren't technologically abled. That is, when they hear someone say they should 'monitor' their childs internet usage, to most parents that would mean standing over their shoulder and watching them surf the net.
Even if they are young, to stand over your childs shoulder is basically invasion of privacy (at least when using the net to communicate with friends) and very un-nerving for most. To effectively monitor someones internet access the common methods are watching: browsing history, cookies, temporary net files, recent documents and so on.
A few kids may know how to clear the browsing history but, as listed, there many things people wouldn't have a clue how to clear let alone view. The issue is double bladed as if you were to teach parents how to view all the extras then the children would also learn how and be clearing those as well.
I would challenge that assumption. Online advertising, popups, spy/adware are so prevalent that pornographic or otherwise very sexual graphics are quite common place. When children go googling, the results returned can easily contain things that children should not see.
That said, the solution is better filtering technology. The internet is too valuable a learning tool to bar children completely.
The best thing to do in cases such as these is to open a separate account for the children in question. Then you max out the parental controls and let them at it!
And if you find a bologna and cheese sandwich in the CD/DVD drive and quarters in the floppy.......
don't blame me.
i don't think the internet should be restricted at all, i was using it to do just about everything from age 12. i would have lost out on alot if i had been restricted from using it or had been supervised.
The more and more we restrict them... the more and more they will want to do what it is that they cannot. The internet can be a very dangerous place, however, that is why we have parents that KNOW how to discipline their children correctly. If there should be any monitoring, only monitoring of how long one may stay on the internet. Too much of something is always bad anyways. So in that, time limits should be accounted for that way, these "children" won't be so addicted, thus helping to produce a life outside cyberspace, which it should always be.
doesn't matter if the kids go on the internet or not......they will always learn the bad stuff from somewhere else
Ah... Yes, very much true. At the age of 15, I was only concerned with doing my homework.
But this isn't the case for other teens.
A study done by Pew Internet (a non-profit research center studying the social effects of the Internet on Americans), reports that "many teens post their first name and photos on their profiles". While they failed to mention the identified age group in that report, another report specified that "close to 60% of [youth ages 12 through 17] have received an instant message or an email from a stranger and 50% report emailing or instant messaging with someone they have not met before".
Citation #1
Citation #2
merged: 05-15-2007 ~ 12:42pm
Hah! Don't I know how that is. My parents do that and for all they know I could've been hacking into the Pentagon! (
The statistics say that "95% of parents couldn't identify common chat room lingo that teenagers use to warn people they're chatting with that their parents are watching".* But still, "almost half (49%) of parents . . . do not know if they have, software on their computer that blocks specific websites or key words". So, parents are generally unaware of how to use the technology they themsleves buy . . .
Citation #1
*NetSmartz is a registered trademark of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
merged: 05-15-2007 ~ 12:52pm
Dude... I give you props for that. My parents should've done that. I really think so. So, that even if that they don't know how to use it, if they told me "...you only get an hour to do your essay and I'm turning off the computer", you can bet that I'll only be working on my essay.
I think it is necessary let children know the internet...
of course, the guard is needed ,but
some of children may unhappy when they searching internet
the parents stand on back..
You also can uses some "spyware" and it works,but
once your child know it ,will become more angier?
so, this case is not easy to deal with...
It's based on both you and your child...
not at all. My bro, who is 10 does fine and usually looks up stuff that interests him, usually yugioh/pokemon/online games and such, and if they do google stuff, that safesearch thing in google is on anyhow. the pc is in a main area anyway so someone is always seeing who is doing what, more or less anyway
the younger of my two sisters (14) manages fine and usually floats on bebo or looking up her favourite bands and chatting to friends anyway
If you really are paranoid you can get software such as netnanny and put limits on it for the young ones
I'm too lazy to read all the posts so I'll just write my own opinion
16 is definitely way too high up
Internet is a valuable source for a lot of things
I began using the internet when i was about........ 8 or 9 I believe...... learning how to use the email and made an account
I actually began using the internet when I was....... 12?..... when I joined MT
That was my real starting point of the internet use
Besides that I only used it for homework resource
Although it is true there are a lot of pornographic/other visuals and materials not suitable for the young aged, internet shouldn't be restricted to them
The parents just need to be responsible for their child's online activities
There are other methods to "monitor" their child's internet usage but because theres a lot of computer illiterate parents at this current generation, it's not expected of them to. Just monitor internet traffic like what the NSA does but through a router...
Personally, I don't think you should restrict internet material, unless you purposely search for it then you'll find the utterly disturbing stuff. Else they really should be fine. I think that more restriction really doesn't do much for a child thats developing... Also, because we're entering an electronic era, I really don't think we should be leaving a child to computer illiteracy.
I have to disagree.
There are certain websites where children should not have to privilege to access.
On the contrary, they can host them as entertainment since we live in such a dull world.
Cheayeah.
actually i agree with you. well maybe not completely, 16 is too old. my personal opinion would be from 14 on. i personally think that as years go by the internet gets worst. The only reason they should be allowed in the internet, would be as a research tool. But then again mostly every internet providers are coming up with parental control so children won't be exposed to the dark side of the internet.
Well like many people said before, the key is proper filtering. Kids should not be banned from the internet, but some of the content on it should be unavailable for them to watch. A lot of parents don't know how to do that or they think "my kid is so good, he'll never watch things like pornography!" not knowing, that it's sometimes just appearing in popouts by itself etc. Tbh the education should start from the parents
so they
would know how to controle their children's internet acces. And 16 sounds also
too old for me, I would say 14-15.
Common Sense for parentals - Get a pop-up bocer
Or
use firefox. <33 There is usually only sexual ads on websites that have
slight sexual agender to them.
I would have to agree with the 14-15 though. My cousin is 11? And his a computer unie. And that's WITHOUT the internet on his computer. n.n It's scary. I predict when his 30 he'll be living in his moms basement doing naughties to porn.
Without a
female present. Haha.. I'm so mean. x.x -shuts up-
What was my point here.. Oh.. Ugh, My mom use to limit my time [when I was younger, about 15?
Till midnight, which is alot when you think about it.] And the
computer was in the lounge room. But, was really unnerving.
I agree with Kyoo69. Some things should be unavailable for them. I don't think restriction is a solution.
Internet is an extremly useful tool, it would me very sad for them not to use it.
16? man... your harsh. I mean common. The parent will know best, simply because they deal with their kids everyday, so that means that they will know that maturity level of their kid. I really dont think that 16, or any other age is appropriate. I mean the kid can have access to anything, as long as the parent know its right for his/hers age.
On that said, i think there really is not age for... internet, violence, and all that (Accept porn) cos the kid should know better, and if not, thats where the parent steps in! :|
As far as children go, I think spyware or malware is a far bigger threat than porn when surfing the internet, especially if the child in question isn't familiar with the workings of computers and the build of OS systems. Of course, in that regard, parents can be just as bad.
It's sad, but to surf the internet these days, you should very well learn the workings of your PC before you start connecting it to the internet. A lot of commercial banners are made for people who buy their computers and internet premade. Just think about the ErrorSafe/DriveCleaner ads we had even here on Minitokyo. There are those of you who wrote threads because it had invaded your own PCs. Lesser knowledgeable people might believe what it said and gone along with the scam.
Porn isn't the problem anymore. Scams, unauthorized malware installations, phishing, chain-mails... it's a bad world wide web out there, and if you're not prepared to at least a little degree, you will find your PC raped to the bottom of your wallet before you know what the hell happened.
16 o.0 I've used the internet since I was 14 and I know more about it than anyone in my family...
My parents TRUST me, they tell me the truth not like most parents that cover it up with "political-correct words"
Since I was
14 I knew there's porn and pedophiles on the internet, my solution is
always:
-Don't click the pop-ups close them; they're usually porn or websites full of viruses
-Don't talk to people that seem strange, a.k.a Pedophiles, like on Myspace or even here I'm always careful of what I write, etcetera...
And it's work, and if people would just do that, I think there wouldn't be soooo many problems when people talk about the internet
But that's just me...
16? i started using the computer at the age of 9, and i am allowed because of the trust from my parents , and not to talk to people who are like what lunagata had mention and everything else