Dear Joeuser friends,
I have had a great break travelling from West Africa to South Africa then the United Kingdom. I trust that you will stay with me and read my scribblings again.
I am extremely concerned about the effect the internet is having on young people.Children from the age of eight are surfing the net and being exposed to risque images and risky (no pun intended),chatrooms with frustrated, unbalanced males waiting to pounce .Yes, they are usually male! We read about blockers and child protection and parent supervision but, let's face it there is little control in most instances. Most modern parents are quite content to leave children to their own devises. Most modern parents leave their children in front of a technological marvel that has no limits. Without blockers teenage boys can salivate over the latest Playboy model. Without any control, young girls can become entangled in unsavoury chatrooms and promises of exciting sexual adventures. Teenage hormones know no bounds.
Boys are equally at risk. It amazes me that there are so many paedophiles roaming the net looking for victims. I must admit that I am no prude but it sickens me when I think that around every corner there is a warped mind waiting for an opportunity.
What is the answer? Well, if you think a teenager won't explore you are naive and ignorant. If you think that a teenager will not want to see what his or her peers is excited about, you are not thinking straight. The normal teenager, raging with hormones, will want to look at anything that is a magnet for those hormones.
So, you draw the line by control. Your own control. After all, this is your child. You warn them of the dangers of chatrooms. You tell them you know there are a lot of nasty things out there. Above all, you tell them to use good judgement so that they can decide what is decent and what is not. You rein in a little and say: look and listen, but remember, there are people out there who are trying to take your parent's love away.
Then you keep an eye out for any wild surfing. Sounds simple doesn't it, but if you, the parent, is not in the frame, you've lost.
Let's work with our kids---not against them.