Although the internet provides a wide variety of resources for both children and adults alike, there are a number of disadvantageous factors that can be detrimental to the development of children. Unsuitable material inundates the internet and is there for a vast amount of people to see, children included. Some of the inappropriate content consists of both pornography and other adult-related materials. Approximately 38 percent of children ages nine to 19 have come across a sexually-related pop-up ad, while 25 percent had been sent some kind of pornographic email. About 36 percent came across a pornographic website on accident (Livingstone et al., 2005). There are a number of ways that children can come into contact with such inappropriate factors; chat rooms, instant message conversations, pop-up advertisements, websites and email are just a few of the mediums.
Online predators can take the role of many identities over the internet, as it is easy to fake characteristics as one hides behind the computer screen. Not to mention, other studies have gone to show that individuals feel more comfortable expressing themselves and being comfortable exposing private information for that very reason. Sometimes people consider their online relationships to be far stronger than their face-to-face relationships (Mckenna et al., 2002). Believe it or not, a vast number of online predators are actually younger individuals, with adult males being another predominant group of predators. Unfortunately, a lot of online predation goes unnoticed for the mere fact that children are not reporting the instances to areas of authority, leading to more unfortunate results (Finkelhor et al., 2000). The issue at hand is identifying what actions can be taken in order to safeguard children from coming into contact with this exposure
There are, in fact, a number of ways in which protection can be implemented. Over the years, there have been a number of protection programs to guard computers from certain viruses. Certain tools that can be utilized include firewall barriers, antivirus programs, and usage tracking to monitor what is being sent through a computer. Firewalls create the ability to prevent unwanted access of a personal computer (Dombrowski, Gischlar, & Durst, 2007). All information being sent to the particular computer has to go through the firewall in order to be accepted. Creating encryption is another effective measure. Personal networks can be safeguarded through the utilization of a network password (Wired Equivalent Privacy), which denies access from an outside party. Although this is a good measure, it should be supplemented with one or more alternative measures. One of the most effective protection measures is using internet filtration. Parents have the ability to filter out certain websites they do not want their children to have access to. The filtration system can eliminate keywords, image characteristics and certain phrases that parents feel inappropriate.
Although these are a variety of ways to prevent cyber predation, the best way is for caregivers to be knowledgeable on the topic. Educating our youth and their caregivers on the safeties of the internet is extremely important. Unfortunately in this day and age, most children tend to know quite a lot more about the internet than their parents or caregivers. Children are also capable of accessing the internet in places other than their own home. This is one of the reasons why these individuals need to be aware of the negative consequences that can stem from interaction on the internet. There should be open communication about the dangers that the internet can produce, and that sending personal information to strangers is not safe and should never be done. Perhaps another way that caregivers can keep a close eye on their child’s internet activity is to be aware of the individuals their child is communicating with and monitoring instant messaging sessions. One last measure adults can take is to use a particular computer in a safe location where they can keep a close eye on what their child is doing.