Is that really true? What about personal responsibility, parental responsibility? There is an off button. Surely there is enough education and awareness of this sort of thing for children/teenagers to know and be aware of what they are doing and the potential consequences?
Things said online can be damaging, but surely the individual can recognise this and just leave and block the site or something?
Maybe there does need to be more education about it? I'm not sure how much they teach about it in schools now, its been a while since I was in school.
Someone once got annoyed with me for finding their tumblr and then mentioning it to them. If you don't want people to see it, don't put it online!
I'm fine! Totally fine. I don't know why it's coming out all loud and squeaky, 'cause really, I'm fine!
I think it depends a lot on the intellectual and emotional intelligence of the teenagers. Some are more vulnerable and less socially aware than others and I think there needs to be serious thought put into educating teenagers and parents about the dangers of using the internet. I think teenagers need to be taught how to deal with being bullied, harrassed, coerced etc. online, how to reduce the risks of it happening etc.
Children under a certain age, in my opinion, should be kept away from the internet altogether. I think parents should individually review this with their own child's personality in mind at an age that they feel is suitable, and with advice on what to do under circumstances of bullying. Children at the age of eight or nine have no need for the internet. They should be playing outside with their friends in the fresh air, or at the very most playing on age-appropriate computer games. Children under a certain age cannot be held responsible for what they post online and it's up to the parents to police that.
Sometimes young people do not know they are being coerced until it is too late. Its possible to teach children internet safety, but if that fails I still believe the child is not to blame. Because if they realise the gravity of what was going on initially, I doubt they would have responded in the ways they did.
Sometimes young people do not know they are being coerced until it is too late. Its possible to teach children internet safety, but if that fails I still believe the child is not to blame. Because if they realise the gravity of what was going on initially, I doubt they would have responded in the ways they did.
Do you consider teenagers (15 year olds, say) as children? Yes, they are under eighteen, but most fifteen year olds are pretty internet savvy and are reasonably sexually aware.
I've heard some pretty off the wall stuff from 'tweens' and younger teens on computers.
We do our best to 'police' things, but it's such a big thing to deal with.
Especially as many of that age have a lot of Attitude...
My nephew has had compulsory online home work since he was about 7. I think it's unreasonable to not allow them online at all. Also Internet extends to things like Xbox which lots of young kids play. I'd say up until 13 it's the parents responsibly to watch what they put online. However I'd still want to know what my child was doing online even older than that. My nieces are aged 12-15 and all have Facebook but their parents also have their log in details and regularly check what they're doing. By doing this my sister identified someone on my nieces Facebook who said he was 14 but was in his 40's and my brother caught bullying messages to my other niece and stopped it before it became full on bullying at school too.
I didn't know that about homework. I find it unecessary but that's just personal preference. I don't know if there is a different system in place for children who don't have internet at.home. I presume most 7 year olds who have to access the internet for homework are supervised by parents or there are parental controls in place. Makes me wonder about the children who don't have the stability of home life to keep them safe, though.
I think the system they use is across our borough but probably not everywhere. They have homework club for kids without net at home but I'm pretty sure everyone in my nephews class has net anyway. They also do ICT and have to type up home work/ research things online. They have classroom iPads as well so most very young kids are savvy with the technology even if they're not Internet safe although I know last year my nephew was taught about Internet safety and Facebook etc.
Do you consider teenagers (15 year olds, say) as children? Yes, they are under eighteen, but most fifteen year olds are pretty internet savvy and are reasonably sexually aware.
Yes, 15 year old are children. Being 15 and being 18 is worlds apart when it comes to understanding and perception. I draw the line at 16 where, incidentally the law is also drawn.
Most 15 year olds are internet savvy and many 15 year olds could tell when they are being used or abused. But get a vulnerable 15 year old and a particularly nasty paedophile and the abuser certainly has 'advantage'.
I am wondering who's fault you think it is if a 15 year old is abused or groomed online; is this not child abuse?
Some teenagers perhaps go looking for older men online and yes that is a dangerous choice to make, but in terms of the law and when it comes to a persons moral understanding; any older adult seeking underage persons is blatantly an abuser; and should be sought to face the law for their actions.
The internet is just a medium to gain access to vulnerable people; and those determined to do so will sadly always manage to con some of the people they target. Whilst the aim can be to reduce the likelihood of teenagers being in contact with sexual predators, some will fall prey and in those instances I don't think its okay to assume because the majority of people their age may have seen what was going on as wrong and alerted the right person/protected themselves online, that those few who suffer are to blame.
It is not reasonable to assume that 10-12 year olds wont access the internet, or should not access the internet. They can, they will and they do. It is parental responsibility primarily to make sure all content viewed is either safe or closely monitored. Having a family computer that a child can use when their parent is around to check on them, and ask what they're doing is probably the best way; but not all children have a parent available for whatever reason; and that's not their fault.
Some people are very aware at a young age and some people are not very aware at all; another point to remember is that the way a person is treated early on in their life 'prepares them' in some ways to expect certain treatment later on. How do we know that that 13 or 14 year old has not previously learnt to take threats seriously. A young person in fear is a very powerful position for a perpetrator to be in.
Last edited by MissAnonymous : 26-09-2013 at 05:06 PM.
Yes, 15 year old are children. Being 15 and being 18 is worlds apart when it comes to understanding and perception. I draw the line at 16 where, incidentally the law is also drawn.
Most 15 year olds are internet savvy and many 15 year olds could tell when they are being used or abused. But get a vulnerable 15 year old and a particularly nasty paedophile and the abuser certainly has 'advantage'.
I am wondering who's fault you think it is if a 15 year old is abused or groomed online; is this not child abuse?
I think there is an element of personal responsibility, there is not only one single person to blame. Fifteen-year olds are, by and large, well aware of what they are doing. Of course there are some who fall through the net, but if this is as widespread as the media seems to portray it, it could be a case of some teenagers using this as a way to explore and express their sexuality.
Just something that I wanted to bring about parental awareness and responsibility: I have younger cousins who have had FB accounts for ages. Their parents know that, they have a rough idea what FB is. But they have never heard anything about privacy settings and such like. They are not educated enough on the topic to tell my cousins how to use it safely. I asked my cousins about school and I know for sure they don't do anything on internet safety there too.
I imagine there is a number of parents out there that just wouldn't be aware of such issues themselves. So unfortunately they are not able to teach their kids how to look out for themselves. We can't just assume that the parents' of every kid find using the internet as natural and normal as we do these days. I didn't have internet until I was fourteen or maybe even fifteen, so my parents were in their late thirties to early forties when they first hear of the internet. And my mum still can't do anything but check her email and order photos. My point being she was in no position whatsoever to educate me on the internet when I was a teen.
Maybe educating parents about the internet and its dangers is something that needs to be done as much as educating kids.
I imagine there is a number of parents out there that just wouldn't be aware of such issues themselves. So unfortunately they are not able to teach their kids how to look out for themselves. We can't just assume that the parents' of every kid find using the internet as natural and normal as we do these days.
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Maybe educating parents about the internet and its dangers is something that needs to be done as much as educating kids.
This is where the parental responsibility comes in. Around here there are regular (free!) classes on computer and Internet literacy. So there really is no excuse for parents to educate themselves on what their children are up to.
In primary schools theyre rolling out a programme where parents can come into school one evening a month to learn about internet safety and how to use computers generally, kids are beginning to learn at an early age about being safe on the internet and so on.
Part of the problem with the education side is that technology is moving at such a rate that it can be difficult for educators/parents etc to keep up with stuff like that.
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
I think it's great that there are such classes. :)
Like I said, I know there is no such things for even kids around my younger cousins' age [they are 16 and 18 and have used FB for 4+ years by now]. It's good to hear though that awareness seems to increase and that schools offer such classes. I still have to say there might be parents who are not able to attend for a variety of reasons [work schedules, not finding anyone to take care of the kids etc], but hopefully the existence of such classes makes people in general more curious about that.
I actually also vaguely recall the public library in the town where I used to live offering classes for kids and parents on internet safety.
Liv, I completely agree. Keeping up with technology is a task that can never be finished. When I was a teenager internet safety and risks mostly referred to chat rooms and emails as that was what kids used it for at that time. Social networking came only later, though hopefully it also means that my peers where old enough to take responsibility for their own safety.
I remember my cousins getting limited internet access only when they were younger, and they were always told to not talk to strangers on ICQ etc. and to tell their parents if anything dodgy was going on [which they did the few times it happened]. But FB and privacy settings were just too new and too different for them to assess it for new risks. I personally changed my cousins' privacy settings, with their permission and by asking them which things they'd like to stay private and which they wouldn't mind public. They were old enough to understand the concept and be concerned, it just hadn't occurred to them that the settings were automatically public.
Children under a certain age, in my opinion, should be kept away from the internet altogether. I think parents should individually review this with their own child's personality in mind at an age that they feel is suitable, and with advice on what to do under circumstances of bullying. Children at the age of eight or nine have no need for the internet.
I always believed that children should not be allowed access to the internet until they start secondary school. Then they should be supervised at all times, with the computer at a place where the parents can see at all times (for example the living room, never the bedroom). Once they are 16, they should be allowed freedom online, but blocking software still in place. They should be allowed internet access in their bedrooms at that age.
Once they are 18, all blocking websites should be removed but it should be explained that they are, and only they are, responsible for what they view. For example if they choose to view something illegal online and they get caught, then they deserve the full force of the law.
Of course, it should be adjustments made for how mature they are.
Wannabe CPN : -)
"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life." - Homer Simpson "I hear those voices that will not be drowned" Sanity is a nasty disease. The world would be a happier place without it. - Rilic
RIP Kat 4th July 1987- 11th June 2013
I don't know how much I'm willing to share, but I am a victim of this.
I had my computer hacked, sensitive photos taken from me, and was threatened to have them shown to my family and friends if I did not comply with their demands. (Which was to take more.)
I knew of the possible risks of taking those photos in the first place, but my reasoning for doing so was because I was so insecure of my body that I cried almost daily and wanted to die over it. Those photos were for my boyfriend of over a year at the time, PURELY to calm my body insecurities. He was aware of this and supported me throughout. nothing more.
I told my family but we did not inform the police. I did not comply with their wish and luckily they only emailed 2 individual people, who did not tease me for what happened. I formatted my computer which stopped the problem.
It was an extremely scary experience and I still have extreme nightmares about it to this day. I contemplated suicide heavily during the ordeal. It helps a lot to know I am not alone, I really didn't know this was a widespread issue.
If anyone has any specific questions I would answer.
Last edited by Eccentrics : 01-10-2013 at 06:45 PM.
