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Saturday, 24 May 2008 04:00 |
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PREDATORS ONLINE
Most of us own and drive a car. While we know that the highway
is filled with dangerous drivers, that fact doesn’t usually
cross our minds when we buckle up. Internet usage is increasing
daily. As we become more comfortable using it, we may not be
concerned enough with the powerful dangers it can present.
Logging on to the Information Super Highway puts us on a broad
road where the dangers are extreme, potentially harmful, and
often subtle or unseen – especially for children.
Would you allow your children to spend one-on-one time with a
known sex offender? Of course not! But letting them surf an
unfiltered Internet could lead to that very scenario. Sexual
predators usually operate alone. However, the communication
power of the Internet has allowed them to seek out victims with
anonymity, greatly increasing their ability to both strategize
their approach and avoid detection.
Using instant messages, emails, and especially chat rooms, they
pose as a minor and look for an unsuspecting child and develop a
relationship with. The patient process often begins by showing
attention and sympathy – particularly in those areas where the
child has disagreements with a parent or other authority figure.
The online predator begins to build a profile of their potential
victim: hobbies, personality/insecurities, schedule,
home/school/work situations, home address, etc. The tone of
communication becomes increasingly affectionate. Sexual themes
are innocently introduced and escalate as allowed by the child.
The ultimate goal is to build enough trust for the victim to be
willing to meet in person.
How do we, as parents, protect our kids from experiencing a
horror like this? By far, the most important thing we can do is
communicate openly with our kids about the dangers of Internet
usage (what to look for in emails, instant messages, and chat
rooms that might be suspicious).
Young children should not have access to email, chat rooms or
instant messaging. You may want to allow your teenagers to use
these tools as long as you have the ability to closely monitor
their activity. You must have full access to where they are
going online and observe the type of chat room conversations
they participate in. They should never reveal personal
information to strangers (such as name, age, gender, school or
address). Make sure they don’t download anything without your
permission. They also need to know that your rules apply when
they use the Internet in other locations (friends’ homes, the
library, school). Tell your kids to NEVER respond to strangers
in emails or instant messages (and report to you if it happens).
The Information Super Highway is an exciting place to navigate,
and now you can do so worry-free. Don’t let the dangerous
drivers out there prevent you from accessing the information and
tools that are yours at the click of a mouse!
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