(Taken from the North Shore Times, 3rd December, 2003; p22)
The article is about the problems and pitfalls children and teenagers face wehne using the Internet. Capozzi outlines some of the benefits young people can enjoy when using it: 'chatting' to friends, doing choold assignments, applying for jobs of even buying things.
Yet, there are many pitfalls as well: hardcore porn (R-rated, X-rated and even triple-X rated) sites; and online shopping or gambling, which both require the use of credit cards which can land children (and even families) in debt.
Capozzi further states that child protection experts had reported that children under 10 had sex with other children after seeing explicit images. As in ------ monkey see, monkey do. As well, more and more under-18s have landed in credit card debt, a problem worsened by online gambling and porn sites.
Yet, there is also a 'flip-side' to the arguement. One respondent said that just because some people take advantage of adult sites, it shouldn't mean that everyone should have to pay for it. He also said that the restrictions would start a 'domino effect', where the people can't access half the stuff, which would defeat the purpose of being an internet user. As well, the size of the www means it is impossible to place restrictions on it.
Even some teenage kids seemed to agree that some of the content was pretty bad; others believed kids would see what they want, regardless of how hard you try and stop them; and others believed firmly that everyone has the right to their own decisions.
Capozzi then notes some of the ways to overcome the problem: one is to enforce the age restrictions placed on certain things. She says that age limits exist on certain things (like sex or gambling) for certain reasons; and that it is best done by the parent or guardian. For instance, they can restrict childrens' internet browsing by using software like 'Net Nanny' to block access to adult sites.
For other people, like adults and teenagers, one has to be mature with what they look at or do, even when it is up to them
And, most importantly, Capozzi (and many of the teenage respondents in the article) firmly believe that children should be sufficiently educated to that they can care more about other things apart from porn. To me ---- that sounds like a very GOOD idea.
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