What is Cyberspace?

The Internet (with the World Wide Web), commercial Services (American Online), and private bulletin boards together form cyberspace, also known as "the information superhighway" or "the digital highway". Here information virtually any subject can be obtained at the push of a button and we can talk to people all over the world.

Odds are that, if you have a home computer and the appropriate software, your children are traveling down the information superhighway at breakneck speed, and you're doing your best just to keep up. But could your kids be zooming ahead without really knowing the rules of the road. 

What Do Your Children Do On-Line?

If you want to know what your children do in cyberspace, ask them to show
you. Get to know the sites they frequent and who their on-line pals are. It may also help to have the computer in a central location, rather than in the child's room. That way, everyone in the family can have access to it and you can keep an eye on what your children are doing without invading their privacy too much. You should be particularly interested in what and whom your children are discovering in cyberspace if they spend extended periods of time on-line.

Is It Safe?

Once you know what your children are doing on-line, you can gauge whether you need to implement any safeguards. Any action you take will depend to some extent on the age of your children and their interest in computers. In time, you may need to modify the position you take now: your kids will get older and their interest will undoubtedly increase.

1. Access To Inappropriate Material

In 1995, many North American parents suddenly realized that there were
dangers for children in cyberspace. In the United States, evidence was given at congressional hearings as to how easily children could access pornographic material.  Some legislative amendments were enacted to prevent "indecent" material from being made available and to make it an offense to transmit such material to minors.

In Canada, at least one Ontario court has held that distributing child pornography via a computer bulletin board (regardless of the age of the recipient) constitutes an offense under the Criminal Code.

Defendants of the right to freedom of expression in cyberspace oppose legislative intervention. They argue that the right to censor should lie with parents, rather than with government: parents should be responsible for monitoring what their children are accessing via the information superhighway. That is the present situation in Canada: it is a responsibility as parents to make every effort to ensure that our children are not able to access inappropriate material and are otherwise safe while on-line. 

There are steps parents can take to try to ensure our children avoid unsuitable text and graphics:

• any commercial services offer special sites just for kids. You can limit your children's access to these sites, either on a voluntary basis or by using the parental controls available with some of the commercial services.

• Filtering software may be purchased to block access to adult-oriented sites. A password prevents deactivation.

• Watchdog groups, such as CyberAngles and SafeSurf, monitor the Internet for sites which are unsuitable for children. Some groups also rate various Internet sites as being kid-friendly or for adult only. Information on such sites is available from these organizations.

• Patenting resource material is available on the World Wide Web. 

2. On-Line Harassment

Commercial services use on-line systems operator (sysops) to monitor public chat rooms. However, it is possible to have unmonitored one-on-one conversations even while a forum is on-going, and, of course, e-mail is unmonitored. Some commercial services allow you to block messages received from individuals using their User ID'S. 

Some filtering software may also help prevent harassment. One product, "Net
Nanny", ensures that your computer's keyboard locks and the system shuts down if specified words are typed or received. Another, "CyberSitter", deletes certain language from incoming and outgoing e-mail.

3. Unwelcome Introductions

One of the greatest fears we have as parents regarding cyberspace is that our children will link up with someone who will persuade them to meet in real life and then harm them.

It's important that your child realizes that the computer offers a degree of
anonymity. Just because an on-line correspondent says he's a handsome 16 year old high school quarterback doesn't mean that he is. Again, the commercial services' monitoring of chat rooms and the use of filtering software can help prevent this.  However, none of these safeguards should be However, none of these safeguards should be considered "childproof".  Children are often able to get around blocking systems and figure out passwords. People who prey on children on-line are even more sophisticated.

The bottom line is that there is no guaranteed way to protect our children from information we don't want them to have and people we don't want them to meet in cyberspace, just as in the "real" world. However, perhaps the best preventative we can offer is clear guidelines as to what is the safest way to surf the Net. 

We have compiled a checklist of do's and don't's below your on-line child. We suggest that you go over the list with your child and then post it beside the computer, with any modifications.

BE ON-LINE: BE SAFE

• Set rules with your parents for going on-line. You can all decided when and for how long you can use the computer. You can also decided where you're going to go in cyberspace. Do not go to any other areas without your parents' permission.
• Never give out any information about yourself that would enable someone to track you down. This includes your full name, address, telephone number and name of your school. Never send anyone you've met online your photo.
• Never agree to meet with anyone you've met on-line unless you first check with your parents. If your parents agree to the meeting, make sure its in a public place and bring one of them along.
• Always tell your parents immediately if something happens to you while your online that makes you feel uncomfortable or scared. This could be something you see or something someone says to you.
• If you do get an on-line message that make you feel uncomfortable or scared, do not respond to it. Tell your parents about it so that they can report it to the appropriate person.