The Power of the Internet has literally taken over the way society goes on about everyday life. It has impacted on American youth more than anything, but this impact is not necessarily positive. Some sites are educational, while others are filled with sex, drugs, and racist material. “There was a time when kids were safe studying in their bedrooms, but now, if a computer and modem are present, leaving them alone in their bed rooms can be as risky as leaving them alone on a street corner or at a bus station”(Sheppard 1). The places kids can go on the Internet is imaginable, its possibilities are endless.
The though of adolescent children wandering through big cities where sex shops and schools, strip joint and libraries, triple-X theaters and museums sit side by side, allowing easy and free access, would scare most parents”(Mack 1). “But many set loose their kids in the cyber world, allowing them to roam sex chat rooms, view pornographic pictures and seek other sexually explicit material with little supervision or direction”(Mack 1). Kids can view all of this material with just a click of a button. “Type the word sex into any search engine on the Internet and see how many sites you get back.
The words sex and pornography entered on Yahoo revealed one hundred thirty four links to sex-related Web sites”(Mack 1). “There is a definite risk of children being victimized online, ‘says George Trubow, professor of law at John Marshall Law School and director of the Center for Information Technology and Privacy Law. ’ Trubow identifies three significant risks: access to web sites that have information inappropriate for children; being contacted by pedophiles who want sex; and marketers who contact them to get information about their family’s income levels and spending habits”( Sheppard 1).
There have been some attempts to contain what kids on the Internet can view. “In spurts of pre-election legislation, Congress passed the ‘Communications Decency Act II’ called by the kinder, gentler name of the ‘Child Online Protection Act’, the bill, like it’s predecessor, is likely to be struck down by the courts as being unconstitutional”(Smith 1). “Recent Events Have Raised Parents’ Concerns That the Hours Teens Spend Online Can Lead to Danger or Addiction. But Others Say the Net Fetish Is Just a Phase. A fourteen-year-old Coon Rapids girl runs away from home with an Internet acquaintance.
Two Bloomington teenagers are arrested for allegedly using their computers to intercept credit card numbers. A fifteen-year-old Bemidji boy tries to board a bus bound for Denver to meet two women he befriended on the Net”(Gaw 1). While many parents are terrified that their children interest in computers could lead to obsession or dangerous behavior, experts say that it is just a phase. The Internet is somewhat of a hobby, such as collecting cards, talking on the phone, etc. “Choosing the best way to control what your child sees online depends on his/her age, technical skills, and how she logs on to the Internet.
For a child under ten, or one who is new to computers, signing up with one of the major Internet access providers, such as America Online (AOL) or CompuServe, is a simple solution. Both companies offer a variety of ways to restrict your child’s Internet access and ability to view Inappropriate material by: allowing parents to customize restrictions by blocking access to sites whose names include words you want to avoid, such as sex, tobacco, or Satan”(EBSCO 1).
Parents can tell their children what to do when they out to the mall, or to the playground, etc. he Internet should be no different. Yet some kids have a lot more knowledge about computers than the parents, so there are ways to get around censorship. Censorship is a big issue with the Internet. “After the Court struck down the CDA, a variety of politicians and pressure groups began to suggest new strategies for “protecting minors” from sexuality and other perceived evils they might encounter online. One strategy has been to draft more narrowly tailored laws that, the authors hope, will withstand constitutional scrutiny.
Another approach seeks to replace the constitutionally flawed CDA with classification schemes that would identify and block access to Internet venues believed to be offensive, violent, sexually explicit, or otherwise inappropriate for youth. Though distinct from a constitutional point of view, the two strategies share the same underlying assumption that children are always harmed by exposure to “indecent” material”(Heins 5). There are many opposing groups that are trying to stop these laws from being passed. Experts say that thee laws don’t seem to be going anywhere. Many people wonder what kids do spending so much time on the Internet.
They could be researching, playing games, downloading songs, or talking to their friends. But whatever they are doing, parents should monitor if what they are doing is appropriate. “Kids have a unique perspective. We wanted to chart their changes especially since the Internet has become more a part of the mainstream,” said Beauchamp. Of the 1,200 children surveyed, only forty six percent said their parents limited the amount of time they could spend on the Internet, and sixty two percent said parents were limiting access to some Web sites through filtering software or explicit instructions”(Mack 3).
The extent of Internet use has gone so far with children that people have set up programs and associations that constitute pathological Internet use. Some of the signs contain, “feeling preoccupied with the Internet, feel a need to use the Internet longer to achieve satisfaction, have an inability to control your Internet use, feel restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop Internet use”(Gaw 4). It even goes to the point that kids lie to other family members about the amount of time they spend on the Internet.
The main source to put a stop to children abusing their Internet privileges would be the parents. “Parents need to read, pay attention to, investigate and use more than one resource. Parents need to be more involved, rather than assuming a piece of software will be a babysitter. Teenagers, especially those that are not social, spend a lot of time on the Internet. Parents have to take the offense and become involved.
If the child can’t tell you the interesting things they are doing on the Internet, then they are probably doing something they don’t want you to know about”(Mack 4). “Parents were once advised to give kids space in their rooms to do homework”, says Frank Connolloy, of American University. We now encourage families to put the computer in family rooms, the kitchen or other busy areas. This will enable parents to keep an eye on what their children are doing and be available to answer questions. After all, there are those who use the net to prey on children”(Sheppard 3).
The fact of the matter is, that the Internet and the kids of today are the future of tomorrow, without either, the world seems to be going nowhere. The ongoing controversy of the Internet and it’s effects on children will not end anytime soon, because the Internet has greatly impacted how children are growing. Though the Internet is filled with many sexual, racial, harmful, and vulgar material, it is filled with positive aspects, and it is up to the children to use these aspects to the fullest extent.
