Many American parents work long hours, not only to provide the necessities to their children, but luxuries as well. It also means children are spending a great deal of time on their own. In an attempt to keep their children safe at home, many parents have provided children with computers, online gaming systems and smart phones to occupy those parent free hours. Unfortunately, this has given rise to a number of internet crimes both perpetrated by children and in which the children are the victims. Parents must monitor their child’s internet usage to ensure their child’s safety.
According to the San Diego county district attorney’s office, internet crime is the fastest growing segment of crime nationally, with children as the fastest growing victim group. (“Protecting Children Online”) “There are no rules that govern the internet, so anyone can set up a website for any purpose.” (“Protecting Children Online”) There are over 100,000 sites involved in child pornography and statistics indicate one in every five children has been sexually solicited, and one in every 4 children using the internet has been subjected to viewing unwanted pornography. (“Protecting Children Online”)
Children exposed to sexual content without the context of relationships may have a skewed perspective of sex and acceptable social behavior. It is vital that parents are aware of what their children are seeing and exploring so parents can help guide their child’s behavior in this area as surely as they would teach their children table manners. One of the criticisms of monitoring internet usage is losing a child’s trust. (Barker) However, if monitoring is put in place from the time your children begin to use the internet; there is no trust to lose, because both parent and child know what the expectations are regarding the internet. In his article “Internet Addiction and Antisocial Internet Behavior of Adolescents”, Hing Keung Ma states that internet behavior is a kind of “social behavior”. As with any kind of social behaviors, parent should teach expectations and enforce those expectations.
Sexual content and exposure to sexual predators are not the only reason parents should monitor their children’s internet usage. With approximately 93% of American teens aged 12 through 17 online (Barker), there is exposure to cyberbullying, sexting not only with predators, but with other teens, gaining information on inappropriate topics(manufacturing drugs, building bombs, committing crimes, etc.) the release of personal information, possible identity theft and yes, predator dangers. (Woda 2012) With children spending so much time online, it is a parental duty to monitor the internet to spot dangerous situations or even know what to discuss with your children.
In her article, “Should You Monitor Your Teen’s Online Activity?” Joanne Barker writes about the “mountain” of drug information online. She informs parents teens can find YouTube videos of “teens tripping on cough medicine” as well as how to make drugs or avoid drugs being detected in a urine sample. In order to know what children are viewing online, it is imperative parents put some kind of monitoring of internet usage in place; particularly as many teens know more about internet usage than parents. In fact, Barker states that approximately 60% of teens using Facebook report setting up controls to block some of their social media content from their parents. The technological age and connectivity of the internet has shifted the balance of power to young people who may be hurt or abuse that power.
Cyberbullying provides the clearest case of abuses in internet usage. The Megan Meier case has become a cautionary tale in regards to the abuses of the internet. Megan Meier, a teen with learning disabilities and weight issues, thought she was being befriended by a boy on Myspace. Over time, the friendly interchange between Meier and “the boy” became abusive as the boy sent cruel messages, including one in which he told Meier the world would be a “better place”. Within 20 minutes of leaving the computer, Meier’s mother found she had hanged herself. In addition, the boy was not a boy, but a former “friend” of Megan’s and female. The internet provided the bully with anonymity throughout the bullying process which led to Meier taking her own life. (“The Top Six Unforgettable Cyberbullying Cases Ever”) Clearly, the girl tormenting Meier would never have been able to commit the same level of damage in person as Megan would have known the perpetrator was not a male and believed her to have a romantic interest.
Ryan Halligan faced a similar issue with cyberbullying when a girl with whom he thought he shared a romantic connection reposted their instant messages for others to ridicule. In 2005, Ryan also hanged himself in response to this internet torment. (“The Top Six Unforgettable Cyberbullying Cases Ever”) The cases of Jessica Logan, Hope Witsell and Amanda Todd all ended with the victims hanging themselves when pictures the girls had “sexted” to boyfriends or “flashed” in a moment of impulsivity were circulated on the internet, making the girls in each of these cases the object of ridicule. (“The Top Six Unforgettable Cyberbullying Cases Ever”)
Cyber world is a particularly dangerous environment because misbehaviors and illegal activities can be conducted under the guise of anonymity and the perpetrators feel they will not be easily caught by authority figures. (Ma 2011) They are correct. If a perpetrator is using a false identity or profile it can be difficult to catch them. Also the prevalence of cybercrimes makes it difficult for police to capture all those involved. In the aforementioned cyberbullying cases, some perpetrators received no punishment or were given light sentences, reinforcing the idea that there are not serious repercussions for perpetrators of these types of crimes. (“The Top Six Unforgettable Cyberbullying Cases Ever”)
While it is clear parents need to be involved in their child’s internet usage for both safety reasons, as well as crime prevention, the next question is how does a parent monitor their teens’ internet use? The San Diego’s district attorney’s office suggests the following: Place computers in common areas of the household so you can see what your child may be doing. Parent should educate themselves about computers and the internet, and educate themselves and their children about the dangers of the internet. Limits should be set as well. Parents or guardians should enforce time limits, tell children they may not visit “chat rooms”, arrange to meet strangers or give out personal information. (“Protecting Children Online”) Most parents spend a great deal of time teaching their young children about “stranger danger”. In today’s technology driven environment, they need to devote as much time to the dangers of the internet with their tween population. Lessons should begin before children are using the internet.
Above all else, parents must act as the adults responsible for their children’s safety. We spend a long period of time holding our young child’s hands, teaching them to look both ways, before we permit them to cross a street on their own. Then we watch from the window or side of the road to make sure they cross safely, long after they actually need us to do so. The internet should be regarded the same way. Hopefully if we have taught our children internet safety, they will grow to be adults who use the internet wisely as well and children can stop being the fastest growing victim pool for crime.
Reference List
Barker, Joanne. (n.d.) Should You Monitor Your Teen’s Online Activity WebMD
Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/parenting/teen-abuse-cough-medicine-
9/monitoring-teens-online
Ma, Hing Keung (2011) Internet Addiction and Antisocial Internet Behavior of Adolescents
Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3217592
Protecting Children Online.(n.d.) San Diego County’s District Attorney Retrieved from
https://www.sdcda.org/preventing/protecting-children-online/facts-for-parents.html
The Top Six Unforgettable Cyberbullying Cases Ever (2015) Retrieved from
https://nobullying.com/six-unforgettable-cyber-bullying-cases
Woda, Tom. (2012) 10 Reasons to Monitor Your Child’s Internet Activity. Retrieved from
https://resources.uknowkids
