Communicating online can be a fantastic experience for young people.
They can use a number of different applications including Chat Rooms, Instant Messenger, Blogs, forums and gaming sites. Chatting online is often an innovative way to share homework tips, learn new social skills, and build new relationships. If you have broadband, chatting in this way can be a great way to save on your phone bill!
WHAT IS A CHAT ROOM?
Chat rooms are usually areas where people meet to chat as they would in the real world in a youth club or bar. Young people love them because they are often unrestricted; and they can be exciting places to meet old and new friends.
A chat room is an online forum where people can chat online (talk by broadcasting messages to people on the same forum in real time). Sometimes these venues are moderated either by limiting who is allowed to speak (not common), or by having moderation volunteers patrol the venue watching for disruptive or otherwise undesirable behaviour.
Chat systems come in a variety of flavours ranging from text only messaging systems to fully immersive 3D environments. By far the most common form in recent times is instant messaging (ICQ, AIM, MSN, Jabber, etc). Some would argue that these are not truly chat rooms as they are characterised by being one on one conversations with people in a users "buddy list". However as the popular media has confused the issue, this brief description is included here. Recently these systems have started to incorporate the ability to chat with multiple people simultaneously, but these are still conversations restricted to the users buddylist, not a cocktail/block party style venue as true chat rooms are.
Instant Messenger:
Instant messenger is one of the most popular ways of chatting for young people. Often known as IM, this involves two or more people being online at the same time, and is different from chat rooms, because the people involved can only chat to people who are on their contact list. Young people often feel that they can talk more intimately in this environment, and often use their own text style language to do so.
What are the risks?
Although chatting online can be great fun, young people can sometimes find themselves in situations where they can feel out of their depth. Risks can arise when young people give out their personal details to strangers.
The online world can often seem very different to the real world for young people, and they can be tempted to say and do things that they wouldn't dream of if they met someone face to face. This can include giving out personal information such as mobile numbers and pictures of themselves. If they are talking to another child there is a risk that they will misuse this information - for example, by texting abusive messages to the child, or by posting their image on a website; but there is obviously a greater risk if the person that they are chatting to is an adult. Unfortunately, paedophiles - adults who want to meet young people for sex - use the internet, often with the intention of talking with and meeting a child. Young people can be naïve to this risk, and often feel that they are invincible, or that 'they would know if someone was lying'. Young people will often 'swap friends' through IM, and therefore can be chatting to strangers who they feel they trust because a friend of a friend knows them. IM is a very intimate form of communication - more so than a chat room with many participants, and therefore child abusers will often use this as a means to extract personal information from a young person.
HOW CAN YOU HELP TO KEEP YOUR CHILD SAFE?
It is vital that you know if your child uses chat applications online, and that they understand the importance of keeping their personal information personal. If your child uses IM then it is a good idea to ask them to show you how it works - in this way you can also gauge who they have on their contact list and if there is anyone how they don't know in the real world. It is also a good idea to ask them if they know how to block someone who they no longer wish to talk to. You can also direct them to the
young people's website, where they can watch films and play games on how to stay safer online.
Consider creating some family rules which you will all agree to on online use, including;
not giving out personal information
not talking to strangers without discussing it
to never meet up with someone that they have met online without you or another adult going with them
placing the computer in a 'family room' rather than a bedroom - a potential paedophile will gauge where the computer is based and will be 'put off' if the computer is based within a 'family area' where there is background activity.
If you are concerned that your child may be at risk, it may be necessary to log or monitor their conversations, and this can be done though some forms of filtering software - but this should be considered carefully, since a child may feel that they have to hide more from their parents if they think they are not trusted.
GetNetWise has lists of filtering and monitoring software.
If you think your child may be in touch with an adult online,
make a report or call 999 if they are at immediate risk.
