Access to the Internet has been linked to an improvement in children's reading skills, while the use of it has connected them with places around the world, allowing them to have electronic pen pals, and learn about other cultures and traditions.
However, Microsoft South Africa, which last week hosting its annual National Security Week, has cautioned parents that if their children have full access to the Internet, they should be concerned.
"Technology and the Internet provide valuable resources and rich educational encounters for our children.
"But we need to understand and act on the potential risks too," said spokesperson Colin Erasmus.
"Make sure that you implement both safety rules and software tools to protect your children online," he cautioned. "One without the other is ineffective."
Tips for parents on children accessing technology
- Rule 1: Teach your children to never give personal information over the Internet, such as name, address, telephone number, password, parents' names, club's name or school's name.
- Rule 2: Recognise that chat rooms are the playground of today's sexual predator. Approximately 89 percent of sexual solicitations of youth were made in either chat rooms or through Instant Messaging (Pew Study reported in JAMA, 2001). And US law enforcement officials estimate that as many as 50 000 sexual predators are online at any given moment (Dateline, 2006).
- Rule 3: Limit your child's Instant Messaging to a parental approved buddy list. Regularly check that it has not been altered. Almost one in eight youths, aged eight to 18, discovered that someone they were communicating with online was an adult pretending to be much younger (Polly Klaas Foundation, December 21, 2005).
- Rule 4: Place your computer in an area of your home where you can easily supervise its use. If you allow your child a webcam, place it in a public area of your house. Thirty percent of parents allow their teenagers to use the computer in private areas of the house. Parents say they are more vigilant about where their teen(s) go online if the computer is in a public area of the household (National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, Cox5/24/05).
- Rule 5: Know your child's online activities and friends. Regularly ask about these, and role play with your child the various dangerous scenarios they could encounter online. More than 11 million teens regularly view porn online ("Protecting Kids Online." Editorial. The Washington Post, July 1, 2004).
The adult internet porn industry estimates that some traffic on their sites is 20 to 30 percent children (NRC Report, 2002).
Use parental controls/filtering or monitoring technology which block access to dangerous sites and activities.
- Rule 6: Establish online rules and an agreement with your child about Internet use at home and outside of the home.
- Rule 7: Spend time online alongside your child and establish an atmosphere of trust.
Only 25% of children who received a sexual solicitation told a parent (NCMEC, 2000).
- Rule 8: Monitor the amount of time your child spends on the Internet, and at what times of day.
Excessive time online, especially at night, may indicate a problem. Watch for changes in your child's behaviour.
- Rule 9: Do not permit your child to have an online profile containing personally identifiable information or pictures of themselves (Myspace.com, AOL profiles, etcetera).
- Rule 10: Check with your child's school to see if student projects, artwork, or photos are being put on school websites. Schools need to be reminded of that risk and encouraged to allow access to student activities posted on the school's website by password only.
- Rule 11: Instruct your children never to plan a face-to-face meeting with someone that they have met online. One-third of youths, aged eight to 18 have talked about meeting someone they have only met through the Internet (Polly Klaas Foundation, December 21, 2005).
- Rule 12: Report any content or activity that you suspect as illegal or criminal to your local police office or to the Child Protection Unit.
- All research quoted is US based and has been provided by Microsoft