Web Safety is a scary topic...
Porn sites, sexual predators, cyber-bullying, online identity theft, unwise or compromising photos all over the internet, and the like. The list of dangers on the internet seems endless. It almost makes me long for the good old days of just TV and libraries.
Almost.
To quote a famous philosopher, "There is nothing new under the sun." Bullies and sexual perverts have always been there and always will be. Identity thieves are not going to go away. And compromising information made public (think "gossip") will always be a problem. The issue is that the internet makes it so much easier to be a victim, not to mention an perptrator. The solution is to be ever more vigilant.
The first weapon of defense is a "net nanny." These internet monitoring programs can be downloaded and installed on any computer, and some of them are free. We use K-9 Blue Coat, a program that was developed for the workplace but which has since been made available for free by the creators. (Unfortunately, it does not work on Macs at this time.) My kids hate it. I love it. I am the only one with the password, and if they want to access YouTube, they have to come to me. Same with social networking sites. Or any other site on the list--unless I choose to exempt a category or a particular site. With teens in the house, especially boys, it's invaluable.
Now for the hard part: we have to educate our kids and educate ourselves about the dangers that surfing the web can pose. And then we have to take action. Monitoring who our kids are communicating with, keeping up with our credit reports, safeguarding our passwords and personal information are only the beginning. As teachers, we have to be especially vigilant with our students' online activities, not to mention their personal information.
The thought of buying umbrella insurance is not welcome, but I have decided it's necessary to protect me and my family from any missteps, perceived or real, with regard to web safety and the like. After all, I might know about the "brown recluse spider" who is a sexual predator, but what about the "black widow spider" who is waiting for a chance to sue me for all I'm worth?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Emily - Thanks for pointing out the net nanny services offered - they are indeed an invaluable resource for parents to use at home. With our (mine, at home) children growing and moving up into middle school, my husband and I also use a net nanny to keep our children safer on the internet.
ReplyDelete