Internet parental controls: Yay or nay?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

After reading an article stating that most parents do not actually monitor their childrens' internet use, I decided to ask a simple question: Do you think that children (well, minors) should be carefully monitored when on the internet, or they should be given a good measure of freedom?

 

 

Personally, I think children need to be monitored regularly when they're on the internet. This may seem like an invasion of privacy, but think of it this way: the child has to earn trust from their parents, and if they prove that they can use the internet in responsible ways, then the parental "watching" can stop. If it is then found that the child has done something to break this trust (sneak off in the middle of the night, visit sites agreed to be "outlawed", etc) then the parental controls can be reapplied, now that the trust has been lost.

 

I often hear of parents who are incredibly overprotective of their children, monitoring them 24/7 (and causing incredible resentment), while others do absolutely nothing to monitor them and end up with kids that are stalked and kidnapped. If it's a trust-based system, then those kids that do as their parents say are rewarded, and the rest end up carefully watched until they prove themselves responsible. Seems like a good system to me.

 

Thoughts?

[ecoli]

It's not an invasion of privacy at all. Parents are responsible for their children's safety, and so better methods of moderization should, perhaps, be used.

 

Of course, there is the potential for abuse, but that may not be relevant to the discussion.

 

And then, there are always the children who know more about computers then their parents, and will use their parental controls to restrict their parent's internet usage.

[Hades]

after watching 3 dateline specials on pedophiles attacking thru means of the internet, Yes.

[RyanJ]

I really don't see the point, people today are getting better and better at using computers at a younger and younger age, with a little knowledge they can easily disabled or remove these types of controls. This is why I don't see the point...

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

[Severian]

I agree with Cap'n, Ecoli and Hades. Kids should be protected from certain things on the internet. The internet has some pretty sick content, and I am sometimes a bit shocked when I stumble apon some of that stuff accidentally. (I am not talking about a seeing a pair of breasts.) I imagine that viewing that sort of thing could seriously disturb a child, maybe even to the point of thinking that behaviour is normal.

[Callipygous]

i think it should be monitored, but as you mentioned some parents are over protective, and take it far enough the other direction that i think it could be damaging.

 

you cant say that some parents should and others shouldnt, so id say monitoring is good till a certain age, and as a seperate issue, i think some parents need counselling.

[ecoli]

i think it should be monitored' date=' but as you mentioned some parents are over protective, and take it far enough the other direction that i think it could be damaging.

 

you cant say that some parents should and others shouldnt, so id say monitoring is good till a certain age, and as a seperate issue, i think some parents need counselling.[/quote']

 

I'm thinking monitering should be retained until the age of 12, then decrease the level. And again at 14 and even less at 16.

 

There are certain things though that young children Shouldn't see and need to be protected of. I'm talking about disturbing images and chatroom stalkers.

[Klaynos]

I agree with monitering up to a suitable age, which is obviousely dependent on the child. And my personal oppinion is that the best form this can take is putting the PC in a comunial area such as the front room, and a parent being present when the child uses the net, as frankly most of the software sucks...

[insane_alien]

Yeah, i'm for parental control based on what i seen as a kid with complete freedom. if i hadn't seen what i did i would probably be a whole lot less f***ed up. just shove the pc in the living room. they won't dare go on anything dodgy if theres a parent around.

[herpguy]

Okay here's my opinion (I'm a kid)

Alright, it gets really annoying when my parents watch over my conversations with my friends on AIM or when they read what I post here on SFN. However, some of my friends (or they were my friends until I found out they were doing this) look up some bad stuff that disturbs me. So it makes sense that parents do control how much kids stay on the internet, what they view, etc. just not AIM conversations (I think that's invasion of privacy).

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I really don't see the point' date=' people today are getting better and better at using computers at a younger and younger age, with a little knowledge they can easily disabled or remove these types of controls. This is why I don't see the point...

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones[/quote']

I've read of one person who set up a VNC server and a Linux firewall box to log all requests through the internet, as well as being able to view their monitor remotely. That would be rather difficult to get around.

[RyanJ]

I've read of one person who set up a VNC server and a Linux firewall box to log all requests through the internet, as well as being able to view their monitor remotely. That would be rather difficult to get around.

 

Your right but there are always ways to get around poblems... I do agree with the idea to some extent though I believe a lot of people who know more than a little about ICT can bypass any blocks and or controls put in place.

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Your right but there are always ways to get around poblems... I do agree with the idea to some extent though I believe a lot of people who know more than a little about ICT can bypass any blocks and or controls put in place.

 

Cheers' date='

 

Ryan Jones[/quote']

You try getting around a Linux firewall box between you and the Internet.

[Klaynos]

Your right but there are always ways to get around poblems... I do agree with the idea to some extent though I believe a lot of people who know more than a little about ICT can bypass any blocks and or controls put in place.

 

Cheers' date='

 

Ryan Jones[/quote']

 

 

You've never seen one of my networks...

[RyanJ]

You try getting around a Linux firewall box between you and the Internet.

 

Who said you needed too? I'm only making the point its easy enugh to bypass given enough knowledge.

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

[penagate]

I don't think parents should read conversations or anything. Any more than they should listen in when their children are talking with friends. They have their right to privacy too. If the parents are genuinely concerned and pay a decent amount of attention to their kids I am sure they are able to tell if something is up.

 

About the internet in general. I consider myself a fairly seasoned internet user. It takes a fair bit to shock me but it can be done. However, it requires a significant effort on my behalf to actually come across content (usually images) that would disturb the general public. I am genuinely unsure how people stumble across the stuff, maybe a link then a link and so on. I guess the vast expanse of the interwebs can be hours of entertainment for someone new to it, and in the process of exploring they can come across unsavoury content. But it's rare to be truly disgusting stuff.

 

Of course, it's happened to all of us at some point, I am sure. And for those of us who aren't too old, it probably happened when we were young too. And we are here today debating over it, so it can't have been too adverse We shouldn't try to oversanitise the world for the sake of our children while they are young, they are then only going to discover it all for themselves as they grow and mature, and run the risk of it happening when we are not there to explain and guide them.