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The Internet Safety Debate, Continued
In our most recent post, as in previous posts, we address the ever-alarming issue of Internet Safety. What are the tools for parents to help keep their children safe online? How much time spent online is too much? At what age should a child have access to the Internet? These, and many other questions continue to be of great interest to us at Safety4Kids. We feel a tremendous obligation to contribute responsibly to the discussion surrounding this issue. We formed a Task Force to address it; we created SeeMore's Safety Browser, a safe web browser for youngsters which we give away free to parents; we have a public television show, SeeMore's Playhouse, devoted to all manner of safety topics.
And still there is so much more to do. We turned to one of our regular bloggers, Dr. Sheila Josephson, to address a very serious aspect of this very modern problem. Sheila gives her perspective on this issue informed by more than thirty years experience treating patients for whom unsafe childhoods have resulted in challenging adult lives. Here is what Sheila has to say:
Weaving A Dangerous Web.
Now we have one more thing to worry about regarding our children--the Internet and online predators. It used to be that we could feel secure in the knowledge that when our children were on their own watching educational television such as 'Sesame Street" or "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" they were not only learning something educational and interesting but they were safe. Educational television notwithstanding, our main concern then was what our children watched unbeknownst to us. So our responsibility was to carefully choose those shows which taught our children and broadened their minds, and then turn off the TV to read or play games.
However, there were parents or caretakers who put their children in front of the TV for hours on end. They used television as a babysitting service. It was an easy distraction so they didn't have the bother of caring for these children. So some children sat for hours watching indiscriminate shows which contained violence, sex, and myriad other situations which they were too young to understand. This most certainly caused them to become upset and confused. They had a hard time understanding their world and life made little sense. They had nightmares and, for some, their behavior proved difficult to control. They also learned at a very early age that they were a burden to their caretakers. Why else would their days be spent watching inappropriate shows?
The computer age has brought an even greater threat to unsupervised children. There are some children, of course, who use their computers as a wonderful tool for school assignments and research. It becomes an invaluable aid to learning. There are others, however, who have little interest in school work and spend hours surfing the 'Net. Who are the children who are seduced by the Internet? More than likely, they are children who have a history of being neglected and ignored by their caretakers. They can feel alone and unwanted, and they have a sense of being a burden to overworked and overwhelmed parents. Their loneliness can make them long to feel desired and cared for. And this sense of wanting to belong can make them prey to the evil perverts who troll cyberspace looking for lonely and vulnerable youngsters.
Another potential risk to children who feel unwanted is their becoming profoundly depressed. In fact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released a study, published in the "American Journal of Psychiatry", which found "the rate of suicide in Americans ages 10 to 24 increased 8 percent from 2003 to 2004, the largest jump in more than 15 years." (The New York Times, September 7, 2007.) The Times article goes on to suggest that the increased suicide rate may be attributable to a decline in prescriptions of anti-depressant drugs; however, no one knows for sure exactly which factors contributed to these alarming statistics.
What we do know, is that there is a substantial increase in depressed youngsters in this country. I am certainly not suggesting a cause and effect between children's depression and their vulnerability toward Internet predators. However, I am suggesting that a depressed child might look to the Internet for solace, just as years ago that same child might have found comfort in the promises of a stranger lurking about a school yard. In 2007, that school yard is an entire online world, delivered to your desktop or laptop or cell phone; it's designed to feel personal and inviting, and it's open 24/7. Vulnerable children today have options. And a stranger's promise of attention--of "love" and "care"--may lead a child into a dangerous web indeed. Take heed of neglected children--their futures look bleak. We must keep our children close and safe and protect them from the dangers of the world.
(c) Patrick Hermans. Image from BigStockPhoto.com
(c) Nick Stubbs. Image from BigStockPhoto.com
WebMD Topics:
And still there is so much more to do. We turned to one of our regular bloggers, Dr. Sheila Josephson, to address a very serious aspect of this very modern problem. Sheila gives her perspective on this issue informed by more than thirty years experience treating patients for whom unsafe childhoods have resulted in challenging adult lives. Here is what Sheila has to say:
Weaving A Dangerous Web.
Now we have one more thing to worry about regarding our children--the Internet and online predators. It used to be that we could feel secure in the knowledge that when our children were on their own watching educational television such as 'Sesame Street" or "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" they were not only learning something educational and interesting but they were safe. Educational television notwithstanding, our main concern then was what our children watched unbeknownst to us. So our responsibility was to carefully choose those shows which taught our children and broadened their minds, and then turn off the TV to read or play games.However, there were parents or caretakers who put their children in front of the TV for hours on end. They used television as a babysitting service. It was an easy distraction so they didn't have the bother of caring for these children. So some children sat for hours watching indiscriminate shows which contained violence, sex, and myriad other situations which they were too young to understand. This most certainly caused them to become upset and confused. They had a hard time understanding their world and life made little sense. They had nightmares and, for some, their behavior proved difficult to control. They also learned at a very early age that they were a burden to their caretakers. Why else would their days be spent watching inappropriate shows?
The computer age has brought an even greater threat to unsupervised children. There are some children, of course, who use their computers as a wonderful tool for school assignments and research. It becomes an invaluable aid to learning. There are others, however, who have little interest in school work and spend hours surfing the 'Net. Who are the children who are seduced by the Internet? More than likely, they are children who have a history of being neglected and ignored by their caretakers. They can feel alone and unwanted, and they have a sense of being a burden to overworked and overwhelmed parents. Their loneliness can make them long to feel desired and cared for. And this sense of wanting to belong can make them prey to the evil perverts who troll cyberspace looking for lonely and vulnerable youngsters.
Another potential risk to children who feel unwanted is their becoming profoundly depressed. In fact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released a study, published in the "American Journal of Psychiatry", which found "the rate of suicide in Americans ages 10 to 24 increased 8 percent from 2003 to 2004, the largest jump in more than 15 years." (The New York Times, September 7, 2007.) The Times article goes on to suggest that the increased suicide rate may be attributable to a decline in prescriptions of anti-depressant drugs; however, no one knows for sure exactly which factors contributed to these alarming statistics.
What we do know, is that there is a substantial increase in depressed youngsters in this country. I am certainly not suggesting a cause and effect between children's depression and their vulnerability toward Internet predators. However, I am suggesting that a depressed child might look to the Internet for solace, just as years ago that same child might have found comfort in the promises of a stranger lurking about a school yard. In 2007, that school yard is an entire online world, delivered to your desktop or laptop or cell phone; it's designed to feel personal and inviting, and it's open 24/7. Vulnerable children today have options. And a stranger's promise of attention--of "love" and "care"--may lead a child into a dangerous web indeed. Take heed of neglected children--their futures look bleak. We must keep our children close and safe and protect them from the dangers of the world.(c) Patrick Hermans. Image from BigStockPhoto.com
(c) Nick Stubbs. Image from BigStockPhoto.com
WebMD Topics:
