benefitsandhazards

INTERNET EDUCATION CLASSES FOR PARENTS

Presented by the St. Martin’s Episcopal School

Technology Department

HAZARDS and BENEFITS of the INTERNET

AGENDA

•Review History of the Internet

•Suppositions

•Perils

•Positives of the Internet

SUPPOSITIONS

• Our children typically know far more than we do about the technology we call the Internet

• Most of us find it difficult to talk to our children about sex in general, let alone the harmful effects of pornography. We want to protect the innocence and purity of childhood for as long as possible.

SUPPOSITIONS

Any computer-literate child can view adult pornography, such as images that appear in Playboy or Penthouse, as well as pornography that is prosecutable as obscenity, which might include pictures of women having sex with animals; men engaged in sexual acts with children; and the rape, torture, and mutilation of women.

INTERNET DANGERS• Legal Pornography

(Legal for consenting adults, Illegal for minor children) – Harmful to Minors Material – Indecency

• Illegal Pornography (Illegal for Adults)

– Obscenity

– Child Pornography

http://protectkids.com/dangers/porndefinitions.htm#legal

http://protectkids.com/dangers/porndefinitions.htm#harmfulminors

http://protectkids.com/dangers/porndefinitions.htm#indecency

http://protectkids.com/dangers/porndefinitions.htm#illegal

http://protectkids.com/dangers/porndefinitions.htm#illegal

Children can access such pornography in two ways:

unintentionally intentionally

• Innocent, imprecise, misdirected searches

Unintentional AccessChildren can inadvertently access pornography in several ways:

• Stealth sites and misleading URLs


• Innocent word searches


• The misuse of brand names


• The need to constantly say no


• Unsolicited e-mail


• Instant Messages (IMs)


Common practice of today's Internet "pornopreneur“

• According to The Kaiser Family Foundation report (found at www.kff.org), 70% of teenagers (ages 15-17 "have accidentally come across pornography on the Web."

Intentional Access

Even the most diligent parental guidance and supervision sometimes do not deter a child who is determined to view pornography on the Internet.

POSITIVES

Improve your child's reading skills

POSITIVES

Learn about other cultures and traditions

POSITIVES

Access libraries around the corner or around the world

POSITIVES

Access collections of information and reference materials

POSITIVES

Communicate with experts in the field

POSITIVES

Thirst for knowledge -

POSITIVES

Google added to the Merriam Webster Dictionary -2001

POSITIVES

Anytime learning – active learners

How can the Internet become safe for my child, my family, and future generations?

• The answer lies in a shared responsibility among the public (parents, educators, librarians, and others who supervise children), the high-tech industry, and law enforcement.

How can the Internet become safe for my child, my family, and future generations?

• Each provides a layer of protection and security for the safety of kids online. And whenever one of these entities endeavors to accept its responsibility for child safety online, we need to affirm and support those efforts.

Resources• Protect

Kids-http://protectkids.com/dangers/childaccess.htm

• Keeping Internet Kids Safe- http://www.kiks.org/tips.htm

• Fifteen Years of the Web- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5243862.stm

• A Parent’s Guide to Internet Safety - http://www.netalert.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/1955/02528-A-Parents-Guide-to-Internet-Safety.pdf

• Kaiser Family Foundation - http://www.kff.org/