All Children Are Apparently Idiots

Panorama recently covered it, and there are far too many guides on the internet regarding the subject, all parents are worried about it but is it really a massive problem?

I am of course talking about your children being safe when using the internet. If the Panorama report is to be believed then any child that goes anywhere near an instant messenger online or touches MySpace/FaceBook/other social networking site or someone who owns and uses a webcam is going to be found by a paedophile, kidnapped, raped and possibly killed.

In my personal experience of the internet this representation isn’t entirely true. I’ve used MSN for many years now, IRC for just as long, I run this blog, I have recently got a FaceBook account, and in that time I have never been approached by someone who has any interest in ’showing me his special area’. I know many people who are in the same situation. Another friend of mine was also watching the show, we both found certain things very interesting and mainly had a good laugh.

The problem with these shows is that it appears the presenters have never been anywhere near MSN, AIm, IR, MySpace or any of the online services that they talk about. The fact of the matter is that many of the girls and boys you hear about who are victims of these ‘online predators’ make themselves easy targets. OK, so the message some of these shows give isn’t so bad, don’t let your kids give out information that will make them easy targets. However if you honestly believe everything that is said on these shows then you are in definite need of help.

Firstly is the one thing that is thrown around in every article and every show about kids on the internet. The acronym ‘POS’. It. Does. Not. Exist. Or at least not in the context explained in these shows. It is often defined as ‘parent ofver shoulder’. It isn’t and there are many reasons why there is no acronym for that. Imagine you are a 14 year oldt talking to your mates online. You are, for instance, discussing something slightly dodgy with some mates online. These mates are quite probably also 14-ish and when told that your mum is standing behind you are much more likely to try and get you in trouble than start acting all innocent. I’m sure some person who reads this post will remember that time it happened on Skype. Oh, and by the way, if you do walk up behind your child and they type ‘POS’ they are more likely typing ‘Piece of S**t’.

Also the idea that just because your child has a web cam he/she is using it to expose themselves to someone online. This is, quite simply, not true. A web cam makes it a lot easier to tell someones mood over the internet, which can sometimes be very useful. Do not automatically assume that if your child returns home one day with a nice webcam in a box he or she is going to use it to make some pervert a happy man/woman.

In short, you cannot understand the complexities of online life if you are not part of it. Your kids are smarter than you think, they are not just going to tell a stranger where they live just because they ask, they will actually want to do it. And just to prove a point I am now going to tell you where you can find my school, naked pictures of me and my address… wait.. that didn’t work for Jeremy Clarkson… maybe I won’t do that after all.

MTFBWY

Oh yeah, and apparently I have to mention someone…