With the way the world is structured today and the amount of technology available, trying to impose an age when kids should be exposed to the wonders of the internet is basically impossible. The way we grew up and the way kids today are growing is so vastly different; things we never knew into our late teenage years, kids today know it at five.
Talking ideally kids should not be allowed to be on the internet and on online communities until they have a better sense of self and safety. The world we live in is very far from ideal, so the best a parent can do is to educate your child early to know the real fact, real dangers and how to keep safe. Sites like Facebook say kids under thirteen are not allowed to register on Facebook and some sites ban people under eighteen. How do they and other such sites know when a kid lies about their age?
All in all, parents are the ones to determine at what age their kid should be exposed to the cyber-world. Some parents seem to know the dangers and address them, but some think that ignoring it and blindly forbidding their children will solve their problems. With internet available everywhere and some parent who have no restriction on their kids (giving a ten year old a personal laptop, getting an eight year old an internet equipped cell phone), not educating your children on the right uses and safety tips on the internet is not advisable. If left to me, kids should not be allowed on the internet till they are thirty-five years.
Looking at the trends that are common today, where kids, teenagers and young adults who seem to have no knowledge or regard for the longevity and wide availability on information posted on the internet, go on to post damaging and potentially damaging data of personal nature for the world wide web. Everywhere we look today we see people who are posting incriminating and damaging information and data about themselves. Most of these information are posted during inebriated periods or thoughtless adrenaline exuberant times.Like the cases we see in the media, examples are: a fire house volunteer whose wife posed naked was outed three years later, by someone in South Africa who saw the pictures; the mayor of Arlington, Oregon whose racy fire truck picture after being posted on Myspace forced her eviction from office; and the case of Casey Anthony whose most damaging evidence where picture on social networking sites. Need I go on, everyday in the media around the world, we see the dire consequences of thoughtless moments made gawking exhibits for the rest of the world on cyber space. So should parents and authority figures take this more seriously and take a firmer stand, I believe it goes without saying.
It is a known fact now that employers and potential employers do thorough searches on employees and potential employees, both on search engines and social media sites. With the advent of smartphones the chances of ruining your career or life have increased exponentially, with greater access to speedy upload of embarrassing and scandalous information. Today with just the click or push of a button people can successfully commit character assassination against themselves before they even realize it. So next time you have an itchy button finger, ask yourself who the collateral damage in your information are.
http://www.facebook.com/policy.php
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/aug/07/socialnetworking.facebook
http://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Censor/cens3.html
http://www.onlinedatinglaw.com/checklist.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/privacyinitiatives/childrens.html
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23445683
http://statter911.com/2011/06/19/nude-fire-station-photos-continue-to-cause-trouble-for-pasadena-texas-fire-department-three-years-after-it-was-dealt-with-a-good-reminder-about-social-media-ethics-just-plain-ignorance/
Talking ideally kids should not be allowed to be on the internet and on online communities until they have a better sense of self and safety. The world we live in is very far from ideal, so the best a parent can do is to educate your child early to know the real fact, real dangers and how to keep safe. Sites like Facebook say kids under thirteen are not allowed to register on Facebook and some sites ban people under eighteen. How do they and other such sites know when a kid lies about their age?
All in all, parents are the ones to determine at what age their kid should be exposed to the cyber-world. Some parents seem to know the dangers and address them, but some think that ignoring it and blindly forbidding their children will solve their problems. With internet available everywhere and some parent who have no restriction on their kids (giving a ten year old a personal laptop, getting an eight year old an internet equipped cell phone), not educating your children on the right uses and safety tips on the internet is not advisable. If left to me, kids should not be allowed on the internet till they are thirty-five years.
Looking at the trends that are common today, where kids, teenagers and young adults who seem to have no knowledge or regard for the longevity and wide availability on information posted on the internet, go on to post damaging and potentially damaging data of personal nature for the world wide web. Everywhere we look today we see people who are posting incriminating and damaging information and data about themselves. Most of these information are posted during inebriated periods or thoughtless adrenaline exuberant times.Like the cases we see in the media, examples are: a fire house volunteer whose wife posed naked was outed three years later, by someone in South Africa who saw the pictures; the mayor of Arlington, Oregon whose racy fire truck picture after being posted on Myspace forced her eviction from office; and the case of Casey Anthony whose most damaging evidence where picture on social networking sites. Need I go on, everyday in the media around the world, we see the dire consequences of thoughtless moments made gawking exhibits for the rest of the world on cyber space. So should parents and authority figures take this more seriously and take a firmer stand, I believe it goes without saying.
It is a known fact now that employers and potential employers do thorough searches on employees and potential employees, both on search engines and social media sites. With the advent of smartphones the chances of ruining your career or life have increased exponentially, with greater access to speedy upload of embarrassing and scandalous information. Today with just the click or push of a button people can successfully commit character assassination against themselves before they even realize it. So next time you have an itchy button finger, ask yourself who the collateral damage in your information are.
http://www.facebook.com/policy.php
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/aug/07/socialnetworking.facebook
http://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Censor/cens3.html
http://www.onlinedatinglaw.com/checklist.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/privacyinitiatives/childrens.html
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23445683
http://statter911.com/2011/06/19/nude-fire-station-photos-continue-to-cause-trouble-for-pasadena-texas-fire-department-three-years-after-it-was-dealt-with-a-good-reminder-about-social-media-ethics-just-plain-ignorance/
No comments:
Post a Comment