Child safety on the internet. What do you think?  

Thanks for responding.

You have an interesting point so thank you for bringing it up as I hadn't thought of it. Do you think it should be harder to enter sites that are listed as 15 and over, for example? Perhaps children could apply for a personal password in the same way they would apply for a bus pass etc. which proves that they are above the age and allows them through to certain websites?

Your points on Facebook are also interesting. I'm personally 16 and have used my Facebook account for a couple of years now, making sure that I know the people I add and that they are real accounts. But I know that there are people who do differently and just add whoever requests to be added, believing they are making new friends and this worries me too. I haven't actually questioned these people about it as they're people I know simply because we went to school together and I don't actually talk to them much at all. I can say though that a lot of people my age find it better to talk to people online as they are shy, and so if offered the chance to join a club they would turn it down.

Thanks again for getting involved with this discussion. :)

I agree that blocking pornography, for example, isn't a bad thing and should be done, but do you think it is necessary to block websites such as Google Images and newspaper websites? These websites are blocked on my city's school computers which causes huge problems in IT lessons and any lesson that needs research (such as essays which ask for a lot of research and a bibliography). Do you think that this is going too far, simply because they feat that some news articles and images will be inappropriate for younger eyes?

You have also brought up an interesting point in saying that parents are the main people who should teach their kids what the right things to do are. Do you believe, however, that children should start to have special IT lessons or sessions in school where they are informed about safety on the internet? Unfortunately, a lot of parents still do not know how to use the internet which I personally believe is the big problem. As the internet is such a new thing, it's easy for a younger child to learn about places and things to do on the internet they shouldn't before their parents even know about them.

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You have brought up another interesting fact. It is true that website blocking is not completely effective! I have just asked someone a similar question that I will ask you.

You have said that parents are the people who need to instruct their children what is right and wrong, but the internet is so new that many adults do not know how to use it and because the children are getting lessons, they are learning about all of the places on the internet they shouldn't before their parents are able to stop them from being able to reach them. Do you believe, therefore, that children should get lessons in safety on the internet? Or in these cases do you think perhaps parents should attend sessions to learn about how to keep their children safe on the internet?


Thanks for responding!

Your point about the amount of time spent on the internet is interesting. I spend absolutely hours on the internet, but personally I find that by typing in proper English it helps me with my spelling and paragraphing while I enjoy the internet. I find the internet can be quite relaxing and a good source for information on anything I want to know, which can of course be a problem with children's safety if they are looking up something they shouldn't, but it is good for school work and general knowledge. I do know that it is terrible for my eyes staring at the monitor for a long time but the internet is very addictive. I would say that people are relying on it more and more and definitely a bit too much, however. A girl I know was recently posting on her phone through facebook that she had spent a power cut for over an hour sat by her laptop waiting for it to come back on again.

Thanks for responding! :)

I know that this has been a major problem for fan bases. Sometimes, people pretend to be a celebrity and say they will meet young fans when they are of course paedophiles. It is really sad that people believe these terrible people and I am glad that celebrities often get involved in campaigns etc. against this happening, making sure their fans know they do not use networking places such as MSN.

Thanks for the response!

I haven't watched that program but thank you for mentioning it as I will look it up - it could be a great source of research for my essay.

It is terrible that these things happen again and again. Do you believe that the prison sentences people get for these happenings are not good enough?

Thanks for responding! :)