Is your Child Sexting without your knowledge?
The Internet has many unforeseen dangers for children of all ages and in order to keep your child safe you must stay informed. This week’s installment of my four week series on keeping your child safe online focuses on other dangers your child can face online. If you missed last week’s installment or any of my articles, you can read them online at the Daily Commercial’s website under Tech Tips.
Last week we talked about the danger of sexual predators. This week I want to expand the list of dangers into less mentioned perils.
Pornography is one of the most accessible hazards your child will run across on the Internet. Porn can enter your child’s world through pop-up ads, unsolicited emails, redirected links and intentional web surfing.
These images, although annoying to adults, can have a detrimental effect on your child, exposing them to information they are unable or process or understand. Whether you agree or disagree with pornography, the long term emotional and mental effects on small children are vast and detrimental.
The second danger, bullying, occurs after a child meets an individual through a medium such as a chat room. Once introduced the bully starts to send nasty instant messages, emails and posts derogatory comments in forums to degrade the child, thereby giving the bully a feeling of power.
The next safety concern comes from scam artists Scam Artists use innocent children to reach into your pockets. Through online offers that are too good to be true and often are. These offers are delivered through chat rooms, pop-ups, emails, and instant messages.
Not only do you have to watch out for what others may do to your child, but you need to keep track of what kind of harm your child can do to hurt themselves. There are many popular things kids do online that can get them into trouble with the law.
Music labels are cracking down on the massive amounts of illegal music floating around the Internet. These files are most often traded through peer to peer file sharing systems such as Napster, Lime Wire and Bit Torrent. Not only are these peer to peer file sharing programs used to share music, but they are also great ways to catch a nasty virus. Not only can you catch a virus, but you may also catch a nasty law suit. Many people have been prosecuted and levied large fines for sharing copyrighted music.
In addition to illegal music, Sexting has become the newest avenue for children to cross the law. What is Sexting? Sexting is when kids take nude or semi-nude photos of themselves or others and send them via multimedia text messages on their cell phone. This may seem innocent, but Sexting can get your child into serious legal troubles. Sexting is very popular with teens, which, by chance, are underage. Jane who is 15, takes a nude picture of herself with her cell phone, sends it to Mary. Mary didn’t see the text message, later the message is found by a teacher on Mary’s phone. The police are called and the next thing Mary and Jane know is that they are being brought up on child pornography charges: Jane for distributing and Mary for possession. Not to scare you, but it has already happened.
The best way to keep your child safe online is through education. Educate yourself about the dangers and then educate your child about what you have learned.
Next week we will discuss some helpful safety tips followed by the last installment in the series in two weeks on software to help keep your child safe.
As always, if you would like more information or need additional resources, please see my website www.connectutech.com.
Last week we talked about the danger of sexual predators. This week I want to expand the list of dangers into less mentioned perils.
Pornography is one of the most accessible hazards your child will run across on the Internet. Porn can enter your child’s world through pop-up ads, unsolicited emails, redirected links and intentional web surfing.
These images, although annoying to adults, can have a detrimental effect on your child, exposing them to information they are unable or process or understand. Whether you agree or disagree with pornography, the long term emotional and mental effects on small children are vast and detrimental.
The second danger, bullying, occurs after a child meets an individual through a medium such as a chat room. Once introduced the bully starts to send nasty instant messages, emails and posts derogatory comments in forums to degrade the child, thereby giving the bully a feeling of power.
The next safety concern comes from scam artists Scam Artists use innocent children to reach into your pockets. Through online offers that are too good to be true and often are. These offers are delivered through chat rooms, pop-ups, emails, and instant messages.
Not only do you have to watch out for what others may do to your child, but you need to keep track of what kind of harm your child can do to hurt themselves. There are many popular things kids do online that can get them into trouble with the law.
Music labels are cracking down on the massive amounts of illegal music floating around the Internet. These files are most often traded through peer to peer file sharing systems such as Napster, Lime Wire and Bit Torrent. Not only are these peer to peer file sharing programs used to share music, but they are also great ways to catch a nasty virus. Not only can you catch a virus, but you may also catch a nasty law suit. Many people have been prosecuted and levied large fines for sharing copyrighted music.
In addition to illegal music, Sexting has become the newest avenue for children to cross the law. What is Sexting? Sexting is when kids take nude or semi-nude photos of themselves or others and send them via multimedia text messages on their cell phone. This may seem innocent, but Sexting can get your child into serious legal troubles. Sexting is very popular with teens, which, by chance, are underage. Jane who is 15, takes a nude picture of herself with her cell phone, sends it to Mary. Mary didn’t see the text message, later the message is found by a teacher on Mary’s phone. The police are called and the next thing Mary and Jane know is that they are being brought up on child pornography charges: Jane for distributing and Mary for possession. Not to scare you, but it has already happened.
The best way to keep your child safe online is through education. Educate yourself about the dangers and then educate your child about what you have learned.
Next week we will discuss some helpful safety tips followed by the last installment in the series in two weeks on software to help keep your child safe.
As always, if you would like more information or need additional resources, please see my website www.connectutech.com.
posted by Eric at
6:20 AM
