In the past couple of years, I have found that more and more people at a young age are making "friends" over the internet. After believing they really know this person they decide to meet them. So many young girls (even boys) have met face-to-face with their online pedophile, usually in a place where dangerous things can occur, and have bad things happen to them because they were unaware of the real dangers of the internet. I think that parents and guardians need to be more aware of their children's use of the internet and they need to set up controls or boundaries so their kids don't have access to certain websites. Parents should also have discussions with their children about the hazards of sharing information or meeting people over the internet so they can be more informed and make safe decisions. There are websites available now for parents and children to gain knowledge on internet dangers:
http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-18-2002-22689.asp
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I think this is a great point. There is no reason that kids should put themselves in these terrible positions, but it’s happening more and more. I agree that parental figures should inform their kids, but not all parents and guardians are educated in all the dangers on the internet. I believe that the best way to teach kids about the dangers that are on the internet is to teach them in school. By educating teachers about the dangers they will be able to inform every child. This will lead to fewer instances involving kids and pedophiles.
ReplyDeleteBeing a parent myself this topic hits close to home, because I have a daughter who will one day be exposed to this issue. I take it as a personal responsibility to teach my daughter the risks of meeting people online. It is very disturbing as a parent to know that young children, our young children, turn to the internet for comfort or for expanding their friendship circle, and that there are people tuning into those sites for the purpose of luring children for their disgusting pleasures. I will encourage all parents to sit down with their children and really teach and warn them of that danger. Schools should teach kids this lesson as well just so that it is grilled into their minds.
ReplyDeleteIf we are all aware of the possibilities then together we can exterminate these pedophile’s chances of getting to our children.