Use Common Sense to Keep Kids Safe on the Net

ALKHOBAR, 18 July 2006 — In the summer in Saudi Arabia it’s too hot for the kids to go outside and play, so what are they doing all day? They are surfing the Net. The Internet has replaced the television as the most popular pastime for bored kids of all ages. The 360 prefix numbers for the Kingdom’s ISPs are giving out busy signals and since most families have just one fixed line, all incoming phone calls to anybody’s home are going to “call waiting” — forever.

Parents are delighted that their little darlings are so busy and interactive. Instead of staring like zombies at the TV for hours, the kids are typing and clicking the day away. The majority of parents equate the computer with learning and most kids learn early not to actually let their parents know what the computer might be teaching.

By the way, I have nothing against kids using the Internet. What I really dislike though is when parents do not understand that the Internet is not a place where kids should play alone. The same parents who would never allow their children out in the street by themselves will let their children go into the bedroom, close the door and surf the world alone. That’s just insane.

I speak with parents all the time who tell me how pleased they are that Saudi Arabia has a filter on its national IT network. These parents think that the filter will keep their children away from all the horrors lurking out on the Internet. Such parents are seriously misinformed. Sometimes I wish that Arab News was a more interactive medium so I could demo everyone on all the nasty things that kids can get up to on the Internet going through sites that are not blocked on the Saudi Network. Instant messaging (IM), peer-to-peer (P2P), chatrooms, blogs and online communities are all available over the Internet in Saudi Arabia and each can be a danger to kids.

Even for the stuff that’s blocked there are ways around the technology. Yesterday I was using a little application that allows me to read Arab News content. We all know that Arab News content isn’t nasty or objectionable, but I was reading the content on a computer using a connection through a Saudi Internet service provider. Arab News wants everyone in Saudi Arabia to buy the hard copy of the newspaper so their website makes full articles unavailable over the Internet to all online readers with Saudi IPs. Even though I get the newspaper everyday, sometimes I need to look up an article in the online archive, and thus I need to mask my IP. The application I was using also allows me to view certain other restricted sites. This application was freely available over the Internet and I downloaded it through a site that isn’t blocked by the Saudi Internet authority. If I can download such an application, then any teenager can do it too — and the restricted content they’ll be viewing won’t be on the Arab News website!

So parents, it’s up to you to keep your kids out of trouble when they go online. The single easiest thing to do is not to allow your kids to connect to the Internet in the privacy of their bedrooms. Remember also, that connecting to the Internet doesn’t require a fixed line anymore. Mobile connectivity is more expensive but it works just as well. Parents also need to get educated and that requires some Common Sense.

Go to www.commonsense.com and download the free Internet Survival Guide for Parents created by Common Sense Media. The guide is a 24-page PDF file written in simple English. The Survival Guide clearly explains all the details about the Internet technologies most used by kids. In the guide, parents will learn that most of these technologies are safe when used appropriately, but under certain conditions some websites and Internet technologies can result in frightful dangers. After reading the guide, parents will be able to sit down with their children — even their know-it-all-teenagers, and have an intelligent conversation about their kids’ online behavior.

Kids believe that the Internet is a safe place because no one has ever discussed the dangers of the online environment. We all tell our children not to accept rides from strangers but we don’t advise them what might happen if they go into certain chatrooms or post their photos online. Perhaps, even worse, parents think that online predators are a problem only in places far, far away. The sad truth is that the Internet can bring online predators closer to your kids than you ever imagined.

In a recent US poll released by Common Sense Media, 85 percent of parents considered the Internet the most risky form of media for their kids. At the same time, the poll showed that 77 percent of parents surveyed think the Internet is an important tool to help their kids learn, and 91 percent said they thought the Internet helps their kids explore subjects they are passionate about.

“In order to protect children from running into trouble on the Internet, parents need to know where their kids live online and need simple, practical information to help keep their kids safe,” said James P. Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media. “We want to empower parents with Internet safety tools so that they can confidently embrace the online world their kids study and play in.”