I think it’s important for parents to ‘monitor’ their children online, at least up to a certain age
There, I said it. It’s my opinion. I know a lot of people who think it is okay to just let their children use the computer and do whatever they want. I know that is how my mom was with my computer (yes, I am that young still!). I guess I turned out okay, but today, with the prevalence of sexual predators and other questionable characters online, it is more important than ever to make sure your children are using the internet safely.
That’s what all the controversy we have been hearing about in Congress really revolves around. The heavily publicized incident in which Google was asked to report search data to the American government that caused huge privacy concerns (even thought it was in aggregate form), was a result of Congress’ attempt to do what is really a parent’s job; to keep kids safe on the internet.
I realize it is not easy to monitor your child at all times, especially when many parents are not anywhere near as good with a computer as their children who have grown up around them, but it is still doable. There are many companies offering software that will regulate what websites children can view. This software general attaches “rules” to a given Windows log in, so it would not affect the parents’ browsing experience.
With software like this, and websites like Safe Surf and Top Sites for Kids that provide lists of websites that are good for children, there is really no excuse not to at least check out the trial versions of such software. I do not consider myself anywhere near paranoid, but there is a simple fact, as much as we may not like to think about it, and that is that online there are predators trying to take advantage of innocent kids.