Don't Shoot the Internet
Colorado School Tragedy Underscores Need for
Communications
by Lawrence J. Magid
The moment I heard the tragic news about the massacre
at Columbine High School in Littleton Colorado, I thought to myself that
someone would find an Internet angle on this story.
And, sure enough, it was soon revealed that one of the
youths who opened fire on his fellow classmates ran a web site that provided
some clues to his disturbed personality.
The site, which was taken down before I had a chance to look at it,
reportedly contained information on how to build a bomb.
The day after the shooting, CNN called me to arrange an
interview on the Internet angle, specifically to provide suggestions on
technology that parents can use to prevent their kids from posting hateful
or violent messages on the web.
I wasn't sure how to answer. Yes, I suppose it's possible that some of the filtering
programs could be configured to block kids from posting hateful messages or
bomb recipes to web sites but, let's face it, if a kid is savvy enough to
create a web site, chances are pretty good that the parents aren't going to
prevent it by technological means. There may, however, be ways to find
out what your kids are looking at and posting on the Net.
Tips
There are no foolproof methods but there are ways to at
least try to find out what your kids are doing on the Internet. A lot
of kids know how to get around this but if your kids don't regularly clear
the cache on their Internet browser, you can go and see where they've been.
I'm not suggesting this is necessarily an appropriate thing for you to do,
but if you feel you must, you can find instructions on tips
page from CyberSitter.
Another
way to see what you kids are posting on the Net is to search for their name
using any of the major free-text search engines such as AltaVista.Com
or NetFind.Com. Here
is a directory of search engines with general instructions on how to use
them. Of course, you need to know what terms to search for. Obviously
you should try your kids' name but also try any nicknames as well as their
e-mail address. If you know the URL or name of your child's website, definitely
visit it from time to time.
Another trick is to see if your child is posting
anything on newsgroups. DejaNews.Com lets you search across most newsgroups.
It's a great tool for finding what people are posting as long as you know
what terms to search for.
No Magic Answers
I don't have any magic answers that can prevent
tragedies such as what happened this week in Littleton any more than I can
offer a simple solution for keeping kids out of trouble on the Internet.
I do know that communications between children and parents can help
in many cases but can't prevent every child from falling through the cracks.
I also know that there are some warning signs that parents, teachers
and other kids need to look out for to help kids who may be at high risk.
Of course, not every alienated teen is going to shoot
up a school. But you don't have to wait for bloodshed to recognize a
tragedy. Even if these young men had never picked up a gun, they would have
been in need of help from friends, family, teachers and counselors.
Many Threats to Children
The tragedy also reminds us that there are many threats
to children's health and safety. Pornography and child endangerment on the
Internet -- a subject that I write about frequently on SafeKids.Com and
other venues-- may be unpleasant but it must be put into a broader context.
It's easy to become worried about kids being hurt online but, as the
events in Littleton remind us, children are hurt in many other ways as well.
Although the risk of a child being killed at school is, literally,
one in a million according to Centers for Disease Control (CDC), children
are increasingly being confronted with the treat of violence.
A 1997 CDC
survey found:
-
8.3% of
high school students carried a weapon (e.g., gun, knife, or club) during
the 30 days preceding the survey, down from 26.1% in 1996
-
5.9% of
high school students carried a gun during the 30 days preceding the
survey
-
8.5% of
high school students carried a weapon on school property during the 30
days preceding the survey
-
7.4% of
high school students were threatened or injured with a weapon on school
property during the 12 months preceding the survey.
Interestingly, the CDC's recommendations for reducing
the risk of violence are similar to the recommendations of SafeKids.Com for
keeping kids safe on the Internet:
"Effective
strategies include school-based curricula that emphasize the development
of problem solving skills, anger management, and other strategies that
help kids develop social skills. In addition, parenting programs that
promote strong bonding between parents and children and that teach
parents skills in managing conflict in the family, as well as mentoring
programs for young people, are also very promising.
But many -- perhaps millions -- are at risk in other
ways. Marion Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund, has
written that "Every 10 seconds in America, a child is reported abused
or neglected." But it starts long before that. Every day, according to
the child advocacy group, 443 babies are born to mothers who had late or no
prenatal care, 781 babies are born at low birth weight, 1,403 babies are
born to teen mothers, 1,827 babies are born without health insurance and
2,430 babies are born into poverty.
So, before we begin a national obsession on
safety on the Internet and pass legislation that requires filtering in
schools or bans so-called "indecent" material, we should consider
the larger issues of what it means to protect America's children.
Suggestions and Resources:
The American Psychological Association has created a warning
signs web site that helps parents, teens and others identify and deal
with children who are at a higher risk of committing violence. The site
helps you recognize the signs of anger and channel angry feelings into
productive rather than destructive behavior.
If you need help talking about the Colorado tragedy
with your children, check out the "Top
10 Tips For Talking about Tough Topics" on ParentSoup.
Parent Time also has advice about talking with your
children as part of a special
report about the tragedy.
CNN has put together a special section called "Are
Schools Safe"
Online
Safety and Critical Thinking
How to
Know Where Your Kids Have Been on the Net (from CyberSitter)
