WORDS James Massola, with Piaras Jackson SJ PHOTOS Piaras Jackson SJ
The mass media age offers a host of new opportunities to learn about the world and communicate with others, but there are things to be wary of. The internet has brought mass media and mass communication to people in a way unparalleled in human history. More than ever before, we can access information quickly, efficiently, and with minimum effort. Today it is possible to check a train timetable, book a movie ticket, do our shopping, plan a holiday and meet new friends all from the comfort of our living room. But along with the convenience comes some drawbacks. New technologies add an extra dimension to old problems like bullying. Internet chat rooms, social networking sites like MySpace, and message boards can lead unsuspecting kids to make contact with people pretending to be someone they are not. The proliferation of disturbing content has increased, and the computer is absorbing more and more of people’s free time.  Schools in particular are finding themselves in the position of having to help children and parents navigate this new landscape. Geralyn McCarthy, student welfare coordinator at Thomas Carr Catholic College in the Melbourne suburb of Werribee, last year helped set up a workshop for students in a number of local schools on some of the dangers posed by new technologies after noting the impact it was having on students. ‘We have noticed an increased incidence of things like cyber-bullying’, she says, ‘and disturbing behaviour about the internet—kids being addicted to it, kids coming to school late or not being able to stay awake at school because they were up all night on the internet.’ Cyber-bullying The anonymity and reach of cyberspace adds a whole new dimension for students wanting to intimidate or threaten their peers. ‘Cyber-bullying is a major concern’, Geralyn says. ‘Kids film other kids, [and] put that out there on the internet—it’s just horrible.’ News last year of a DVD showing students committing disturbing acts that was advertised through MySpace highlighted how new technologies leave children vulnerable in new ways. Geralyn believes parents, police and schools need to cooperate better. ‘A lot of it happens outside of school’, Geralyn says, ‘but schools are really trying to think of ways of how to respond to it.’ Social networking sites Sites like MySpace, where people can create pages about themselves and connect with other people from around the world, offer new opportunities for making friends. But there are also concerns about these sites, especially where young people create profiles that reveal more information about them than is prudent. ‘Kids who are shyer tend to be drawn more to the internet’, says Geralyn. ‘They feel more confident about being able to relate and say things that they wouldn’t say face to face. Maybe those kids are more at risk.’ The Australian Government’s internet-safety advisory body, NetAlert, recently conducted a survey that found up to 50 per cent of children had been approached by a stranger online to meet in real life. Of those children who agreed to meet up with someone, only 10 per cent told their parents about it. The recently launched ‘Think U Know’ initiative, bringing together the resources of NetAlert, together with Microsoft, NineMSN and the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT), is designed to raise awareness amongst Australian children, parents and teachers of the increasing safety issues on the internet. Vigilance needed Chat rooms, mobile phones and illicit video footage are not the only dangers. The amount of offensive material on the internet has grown exponentially. The privacy afforded to people by using the internet at home, combined with increasingly sophisticated means of delivery, has meant that more and more pornography has become widely available on the internet. While some search engines filter this material, it’s still available to anyone who knows how to find it. In 2006 the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference released a pastoral letter on the media, titled Go Tell Everyone. In it, the bishops acknowledged that it has become increasingly difficult for parents and teachers to monitor what children can access. They argued for greater regulation of the content from government, saying, ‘The use of the internet for pornography and other activities which attack human dignity … calls for constant vigilance and appropriate government regulation.’ The Australian Government announced in June 2006 that they would spend approximately $116 million to facilitate the installation of net filters on the computers of Australian families. The details of this program are yet to be announced, but it is expected that the government will subsidise the purchasing of individual filters for families. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference recommends careful monitoring of internet usage: ‘None of us would dream of letting a [stranger] in the front door … yet so often we can be careless about the electronic invasion that affects our thinking and attitudes.’ It also advises that parents talk to children about the internet sites they visit, and ensure the computer is in an open space so that internet use can be supervised. Schools, too, need to be working to promote safe and practical computer use, which includes ensuring they don’t spend too much time on computers to the detriment of the rest of their lives. ‘We’re not saying to kids “Don’t use the internet”, but we just want them to be a little more savvy about some of the problems so they can protect themselves’, says Geralyn.
The following sites may be useful to parents and guardians. It may be helpful to consult your school for local advice on best internet practice. Check that the information is recent before you rely on a site for security advice. NetAlert NetAlert is the website of the Australian Internet Safety Advisory Body. The site has many useful tips and information that will be of interest to parents. Look for the Parent’s Toolkit on the site. http://www.netalert.net.au Cybersmart Kids ‘Smart net surfing for kids and their grownups.’ http://www.cybersmartkids.com.au A Parent’s Guide to Internet Safety The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation has put together some useful pointers about what to look out for and what steps to take to ensure children are safe online. http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm  Comment on this article
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