Through the years, the Internet proved its importance and usefulness to mankind. At the turn of the new millennium, more and more people are becoming dependent on computers and the Internet for many things. The Internet serves as the perfect media to explore the outside world at the comfort of one's home. It is also the perfect place to socialize with other people from all over the globe and gain knowledge about other things. For this reason, the realm of cyber world has a huge appeal to inquisitive children. The truth is, a huge percentage of Internet users (some 48 million, actually) are kids from the young age of 5 to the barely adult age of 17. The World Wide Web is a great place to learn, discover, and communicate; unfortunately, it's not always that safe.
The anonymity of the Internet made it a breeding ground for many evil entities. The modern conveniences and advantages it provides made it the ideal avenue for cyber criminals to carry out their dirty work. The sad truth is, many child pornographers and pedophiles lurk in the murky depths of the cyber world, making it a dangerous ground for kids to frolic about unsupervised. An even sadder reality is that parents cannot keep watch of their kids' Internet activities all the time. This makes it easier for Internet predators to harass kids online.
The main reason why the cases of Internet predation continue to increase is the lack of awareness both in the parts of parents and kids. The misguided belief of parents that the anonymous nature of the Internet makes it safe is what leads them to permit their kids to go online unguided. The same line of thinking is also the reason why kids let their guards down in the cyber world. It is depressing to know that the fake notion of security the Internet offers leads even the responsible kids to be induced in activities that they would not normally do offline, such as talk and share personal information with total strangers.
According to reports by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 20% of pornography over the Internet concerns children. Another report from the center says that child pornography in 2004 increased by 39%. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children cited that not less than 20,000 images depicting child pornography appears over the Internet each week. The statistics just show how much child pornography expanded in the cyber world through the years. The figures are alarming, and as long as the society and the authority don't do something about it fast, the numbers would not cease to escalate.
Aside from child pornography, pedophilic activity is another cyber crime that makes the Internet more dangerous for kids. Unknown to parents, many pedophiles lurk in online chat rooms, waiting for their next preys. Statistics from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) show that one in every five children who frequent chat rooms experienced being approached by pedophiles. Also, according to NCMEC, at least 1 out of 33 kids gets aggressive sexual requests. Of all the youth who get sexual solicitations online, only a quarter of them told their parents. More upsetting to know is that according to the National Criminial Intelligence Service, pedophiles online have figured out counter-intelligence methods to prevent authorities from tracking them.
Fortunately, there are many private groups and government agencies that are dedicated to deterring Internet predation aimed at children. The NCMEC is just one example of a non-profit organization that prevents abduction and sexual abuse on children. Established in 1984, NCMEC operates a so-called CyberTipline program where parents can report child abuse and harassment online. The organization, in cooperation with the law enforcers and concerned individuals help in the investigation, treatment, and prosecution of cases that involve child abduction and exploitation.
Even without the help of government agencies and non-profit groups, parents can take measures to ensure that their kids only get the best experience online. One is purchasing and installing parental control software in home computers. These commercially available softwares allow parents to take control over their kids' Internet activities. These softwares filter websites, keeping the children from viewing websites that have explicit contents. Some sophisticated parental control softwares even have tools for restricting instant messaging activities. There are features that can limit the contacts kids can talk to. Another feature allows parents to render peer-to-peer or file sharing networks inaccessible to their kids. These networks, although more commonly used for downloading music files, can also be a medium for downloading pornographic materials that can corrupt innocent minds
Since kids are more likely to do things they are not supposed to do when their parents are not around, parents can also install keyloggers in their home PCs. This device allows the parents to monitor what their kids are doing online even when they're away. A keylogger can keep track of every single keystroke typed on a computer and every site visited by its user. A keylogger can send reports of these computer activities to a remote computer, so even if the parents are away on vacation or at work, they will still be able to know their kids' online activities at home.
More than these monitoring tools, the best way to combat Internet predation and other cyber crimes is by possessing the knowledge on how to stay safe online. There are many websites out there that teach kids and parents on the proper netiquette. Among the most interesting and effective websites out there is Netsmartz.com. They have interactive and educational lessons and 3D activities that kids will surely enjoy.
Parents should teach their kids not to reveal personal information online and make them cautious of what they say or divulge to strangers they encounter over the Internet. Grown-ups should only allow their kids to talk to people they actually know and met in real world. Parents should also encourage their children to talk to them if someone is harassing them online. Responsible parents should keep in mind that maintaining a good communication between them and their kids is essential in keeping their kids from being victims of Internet predators.
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