At 10 years-old, the
Internet and your
10 year-old are one
November 2003
 

In case you haven't noticed, we are in a day and age where anyone with Internet access is a point and click away from just about anything.  In its 10th year, the World Wide Web has become a place for endless amounts of information, among other things.  Almost every form of communication is being mimicked by the Internet.  You can carry-out a conversation with instant messaging,   leave an e-mail, have a business meeting, rent your favorite movie, and even go to school on the Internet.

The Internet manages to replace many daily, time consuming tasks, with a few seconds of typing and clicking.  And since it was released to the general public in 1993, many of this generation's kids seem to know more about the Internet than their parents do, which is cause for concern.

Along with the Internet's many advantages to everyday life, it also has many disadvantages.  Looking past the Internet's promotion of social inability and laziness, it also provides the ever present danger of false identity.  Without a voice or a picture, how can you know who anyone is?  You
hear about it all the time.  So-and-so thinks they've met a friend on the Internet, they decide to meet, it turns out to be someone other than they expected.  Problems like this are easily preventable, unless like in some households, the children control the computer.  It's up to the parents to know
who their children are talking to, and most importantly, to make sure that their
children know who they're talking to.

False identity can also put your personal information, and even your money in jeopardy.  People and websites all over the Internet dedicate themselves to stealing passwords, personal information, and credit card numbers.  If your child is caught off guard their goes your credit card.  If anything ever asks for personal information or a credit card number, it's up to the parent to make sure that site is secure, because it's the parent who's going to pay the price.  But protecting your money doesn't stop there.

A battle between file sharers and recording industries rages on as we speak. If you haven't heard anything about file sharing in the past few months, chances are you will in the next few months.  File sharing is the
downloading and uploading of files (the most popular are music files) that really took off after the creation of Napster; one of the first servers that allowed anyone with an Internet connection to share files for free.

Free file sharing has officially become illegal, though no one seems to care until they get fined thousands of dollars for having a few songs on their computer.  Though it is impossible for companies to sue every file sharer, it is possible for them to sue any file sharer.  Gender, age, race, doesn't matter.  The worst part about it, all it takes to begin file sharing is a few clicks and a walkthrough installation of the program, and it's done.  It's so easy a 10 year old can do it, and no parental consent is necessary.

Check your programs: Kazaa, Morpheus, Audiogalaxy, Limewire, iMesh -- the list goes on, and if you're not paying for it, chances are, it's illegal.  If someone in your family's name pops up on the RIAA's (Recording Industry Association of America) list, you're out of some serious money.  Ask yourself or your child, is hearing the new "50 Cent" song for free worth $20,000?  If it isn't, you might want to get rid of it.

Luckily, children are plenty safe from the Internet's down side for at least 7 hours each day.  The Novi Community School District does a good job of preventing any of the above from happening on school premises. By not allowing downloads by students, and filtering everything remotely indecent on the Internet, it provides a safe Internet that is still for the most part usable and enjoyable.

The Novi Community School District filters the Internet, which means they block access to certain websites with content that, in their opinion, shouldn't be viewed in school.  The same can apply at home too, and if it's your last resort, follow the school's lead and filter your Internet.  Several services and programs are available to do this.

There are thousands of ways to protect your kids from what can be a very dangerous Internet, while still allowing them to have the freedom they deserve.  Whether it's simply asking enough questions to steer them away from the dangers of the Internet, or going as far as checking which websites
they've recently accessed, it will be worth it in the long run.  Take control of your computer and the Internet.  After all, you're paying for it in the first place.
 

(c) 2003 the Novi Information Network