A keystroke away from danger

Like many others, I heard that line come from my mom over and over again as I was growing up. Today, many parents still send off their children to school, the mall, and other places with those words of caution. However, because of today’s modern technology where computers and mobile phones are the norm, strangers can reach children in the safety of their own bedrooms.

Although the positive contributions of the World Wide Web cannot be denied, Internet crimes are increasingly becoming more and more prevalent. The Philippine National Police names child exploitation as one of the most prevalent internet crimes in the country. Other crimes against children and adolescents include kidnapping, molestation, and solicitation by others using an online service. While most parents warn children about dangerous predators and pedophiles lurking on the Internet, some do not realize that there are other crimes going on right under their noses.

A hidden danger

As the popularity of Social Networking Sites such as Facebook and Friendster continue to rise, so does the potential for abuse to happen to children and adolescents. There are different forms of abuse that happen online, and this is not just limited to being preyed upon by sex offenders, although that is one of the biggest challenges online safety watchdogs are trying to fight.

Whereas earlier generations had pen pals, today’s teens have chatmates or textmates. At times, chatting or exchanging pleasantries ends up not being enough. A popular trend for kids and teens nowadays is the phenomenon of “sexting,” wherein they send sexually explicit pictures of each other via cellular phone, many of which end up being spread virally through various mobile devices. Some even end up being posted online. More than just sexting, these sexually charged activities can also lead to cybersex.

Chana Joffe-Walt called this a “disturbing new teen trend” in an article where she highlighted the consequences of such viral behavior. While the teens involved in sexting may view it as fun or just playing around, they do not realize the extent of hurt and damage such activities can cause. They may also not realize that it is a criminal offense. Just recently, CBS news reported that several teens faced porn charges for their involvement in sexting.

Some vulnerable teens are lured to danger by people posing as friends or as love interests. This tends to lead to meet-ups, or what is popularly known as an EB or “eyeball.” While for some legitimate groups or fora, this is a valid way of getting to meet the people you interact with online, for others, this can become a means for crimes ranging from rape and molestation to kidnapping and robbery.

Another form of online abuse is cyberbullying and harassment. Through the use of instant messaging, one can send hateful messages easily. From name-calling to spreading rumors or lies, online bullying is surely a growing concern. In fact, Joe Torres reported that the biggest "negative" in one’s online gaming experience is witnessing or being the target of bullying. While others may retort that it is all in the name of fun, the psychological and emotional damage done on the targets of online bullies is so severe that it has been linked to several teen suicides in the last few years.

Besides the danger of being targeted by an online sexual predator, many parents may not realize that many teens get involved in online betting and gambling. While age restrictions may be in place in most websites, there are many ways to circumvent these limitations. Also, these games need not necessarily be found on gambling sites alone. Just recently, a twelve-year-old boy reportedly stole his mother’s credit card and racked up a USD1,400 bill on the popular Facebook game Farmville.

Long-term damage

Perhaps the greatest danger online activities pose is the long-term damage it causes. Many younger individuals may not realize the importance of online privacy at their age and may not realize that a few years down the line, the photos or content they have posted on their web pages or social networking sites may come back to haunt them. Case in point is that of Carrie Prejean, who lost her title of Miss California USA after topless photos of her came out on the internet. Similarly, potential employers are now looking into applicants' online behavior.

Keeping kids safe online

The answer to keeping kids safe online is not necessarily shutting down all their online involvements. Rather, it is important to educate them about the proper use of the internet and to set boundaries on what they can and cannot do online.

Besides sitting them down for the talk, here are other things parents can do to keep their children from falling prey to internet danger:

Set parental controls. Almost all computers have settings that parents can adjust to filter and monitor the sites their children can access. Setting up these filters is essential in ensuring that they do not go to websites that are malicious or dangerous. Parents can also opt to install monitoring software in their computers.
Be a visible presence both on- and off-line. Parents can actively monitor their children’s online activities more by also creating their own accounts on the same network as a condition for joining. A parent I know conceded to having her 13-year-old set up a Facebook account on two conditions: she must add her as a friend and give her the password to her account so she can do random checks on the activities her daughter is doing. While some may feel that asking for the password was overkill, the mom felt that by doing so, it was a deterrent for her daughter to post inappropriate material on the site, knowing that her mom is on the lookout.
Create clear rules and expectations about online behavior. This can include rules such as never posting addresses, phone numbers, vacation details or destinations online, or photos that are too revealing or inappropriate. Parents can also create a list of allowable sites their kids can browse. Besides setting rules, consistently implementing these is crucial.

Get to know the language. Parents should be updated with the net lingo the kids use nowadays. The language has evolved greatly and while your child may be writing out common words like “banana” and “mob,” they may not be referring to those literally.
Don’t talk to strangers. While we tell kids this offline, they should also be reminded that strangers online should not be spoken to. What makes this difficult, however, is that many times, kids feel safe to talk to someone they have not met because they have something in common, such as a school they go to or common friends. Remind them to be cautious of this because sometimes, predators may use false identities to gain their trust.
Restructure accessibility to the computer. A last and perhaps a very practical tip is to remove computers from the bedroom and place them in an open area where there is a lot of activity going on, such as the study or family room. This way, logging on to unacceptable sites can be avoided.

The World Wide Web is definitely a fun, entertaining, and educational playground for all. However, just as in our offline life, we need to be careful about navigating in this virtual world because danger can be just a keystroke away.

Photo credits: “keys” by yapatoots, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved, / “Computer Kids” by Eden, Janine and Jim, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved.

-----

Maria Andrea (Ria) S. Tirazona, M.S. (cand.), popularly known as Yapatoots in the online blogging and social networking community, is a preschool teacher at Playschool International and part-time lecturer at the Psychology Department of De La Salle University. She is also an Associate Psychologist at PsychConsult, Inc, where she specializes in Psychological Assessment. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Family Life and Child Development from the University of the Philippines and is currently working on her thesis for her Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology at the De La Salle University. In her spare time she maintains several blogs, including www.theaccidentalteacher.com, www.fatgirlnomore.com and www.yapatoots.com.