Parents need to be informed about what is happening online to make sure their children aren’t misusing this powerful technology. 

By Liz Warwick

We were having dinner when my son, Nicolas (then 5 years old) made his big announcement. “Mommy, a boy at school had a naked lady on his computer.” 

He then turned his attention back to his supper, leaving me to take several deep breaths before I could continue the discussion. Some gentle questioning revealed that the picture of the woman had been very small (probably an ad) and that the boy responsible for its appearance had immediately told the classroom teacher, who promptly dispatched the lady back to her cyberspace home. 

When I talked to the teacher the next day, he admitted that he couldn’t figure out how the boy had accessed such an image. No expert in computers, he’d assumed that there were filters that would block such things. He’d already reported the problem to the school board’s computer technician, and something must have been done, because there were no more announcements about nude people appearing on computer screens. 

Lack of skills
The incident revealed an uncomfortable truth: neither I nor my son’s teacher were particularly computer savvy. And yet Nicolas, surrounded by computers from an early age, was so comfortable with them that he had even managed to open up Google and conduct a search on his favourite topics, dinosaurs and space. 

This adult confusion in the face of young people’s computer use — and sometimes misuse — is quite common, notes Cathy Wing, acting Executive Director of the Media Awareness Network (MAN), a non-profit organization working on issues of media literacy. From instant messaging to online social networking sites such as MySpace, our kids are making technological leaps that many adults don’t understand. That is one of the reasons that the organization has developed a PowerPoint program entitled “Parenting the Net Generation” that is available free to school boards as well as home and school associations. 

Wing recently presented the program at the Westmount Library. During the talk, she revealed some interesting statistics. Approximately 94 per cent of kids in Grades 4 to 11 have access to the Internet at home. While games, email and instant messaging are popular activities, three-quarters of children in Grades 6 to 11 report using the Internet for homework almost daily. Most students say they prefer to get information for homework assignments from the Internet rather than through books. In short, the Internet has become as common a tool as say a fork or a knife. “It has become a space where children live their daily lives,” Wing says.
However, while children are using all this technology, many have worries and concerns about it. MAN’s study revealed that two-thirds of students said they’d like schools to teach them how to tell if information they find on the Net is true or not as well as how to protect their privacy while online.

“The credibility of information found on the net is a very, very important issue,” Wing says. She showed an example of a site that appeared to contain biographical information on Martin Luther King Jr. However, a closer look revealed that the site was run by a racist group intent on propagating hate. 

Wing also warned that many sites popular with kids, such as MyScene and Neopets, seamlessly merge advertising with content, making it extremely difficult for young people to distinguish between the two. Many sites encourage kids to fill out market surveys, in which they are asked for very detailed personal information. Few children or their parents take the time to read the site’s privacy policies, which may give the site permission to sell this information to other marketers and retailers. 

To address the problems associated with children’s Internet use, teachers, parents and librarians need to be involved and aware, says Wing. In addition to asking kids directly about what they do on the Internet, parents and teachers can visit a new site, run by MAN, called Web Aware (www.bewebaware.ca). Adults will find a wealth of information on topics such as privacy, cyber bullying, misinformation, violent content and online predators as well as safety tips by age. 

Adults also need to educate young people about the pitfalls and dangers of the online world. 
“We have to ensure that young people possess the necessary critical thinking skills to use these technologies wisely,” Wing says. 

The organization’s website, www.media-awareness.ca, has many helpful resources. There are training programs for teachers with materials that can be used in class as well as fact sheets and tips for parents. 

While it’s easy to panic in the face of technology’s incredible dominance in our children’s lives, Wing encourages adults to stay calm, be informed and realize that kids are still just kids. 
“Keep in perspective that kids are taking the activities they’ve always done but doing them online,” she says. Whether it’s researching a school assignment or chatting via instant messaging with friends, kids are embracing this technology as their own. It’s time for the adults to get involved too. And who knows, maybe you’ll soon be chatting with your friends on IM. 

Instant messaging, that is. 

For information on how to obtain Parenting the Net Generation, 
email licensing@media-awareness.ca or call (613) 224-7721.