Supervision
Needed for Kids' Internet Use
Risks for children
on the Internet keep going up. Un-monitored use
of chat rooms and wildly popular Internet meeting
places such as MySpace.com can place teens and children
at risk for Internet predators. MySpace.com has
come under increasing scrutiny and is the object
of a lawsuit accusing them of not working enough
to protect users from predators. Attorneys General
in more than 22 states have called for more protection
and Congressional hearings are set to begin focusing
on how to make the Internet safer for kids.
What should parents
do? A recent Canadian study found that fewer than
half of parents enforce any rules about instant
messaging or chat sites. Un-monitored teens and
children are traveling the Internet without any
parent protection or guidance. The National Institute
on Media and the Family not only encourages parents
to be MediaWise, but offers tools to help.
Visit MediaWise.org
to learn how to keep your child safe on the Internet
with our Internet Safety Series and MediaWise Parental
Control Guide.
