« iBuzz Pro Voice Blasting Business Solution Can You Watch TV On Your Computer? The Answer Behind It »
Are you wondering how to make the Internet safe for your kids? You want them to use the Internet for research, but you don’t want them to find objectionable sites or emails.
I bet you would like to find a program you could buy that you could install on your computer to block objectionable content, but permit research.
Here’s the bad news: filtering programs can’t do the job by themselves. NentNanny and other applications like it search for certain words in the Web site your child is clicking on. Simple words like “belly” can be targets for blocking, causing frustration, while research on “breast cancer” may be impossible.
But these word-blocking solutions are no good at all at blocking objectionable photo sites that have no objectionable words attached. Ask me how I know? My teenage son figured it out. He just went to Google Images and started looking. Your son could do that too. And the objectionable sites he found weren’t blocked by NetNanny, which was turned on.
The problem is that filter programs search for individual words. They never look at pictures, and in fact cannot.
The next question is, “What’s a parent to do?”
* Keep your computers where you can monitor what the kids are doing. Put them in the kitchen or wherever YOU are.
*To log on, anyone who is not an adult will have to ask an adult to input the password, giving permission in this way.
*Insist that your kids log off when they finish. As a result, they will need an adult to input the password the next time they want on.
*Use a filter like NetNanny. It will help when your back is turned.
*Kids should be told what you expect from them, and the consequences of disobedience.
*Unplug the computer from the Internet if the child is using a word processor or other local program only.
*Give younger kids your own email address to use. This protects them from objectionable spam. Give teens an email address, but instruct them to give it out only to people they know personally.
Your watchfulness will pay off. Your children will be protected from what they should not see, and they will also learn good habits for using the Internet as adults.
No comments yet.