Feature

First Generation Internet Citizens

It isn’t likely to surprise anyone that research shows (PEW Research Institute), kids are more fully engaged in technology and the Internet than their predecessors. You may think you’re “wired”, but the next generation is the first born to a world that doesn’t even need that terminology; they are first generation online citizens who can’t even imagine life without the Internet.

It took awhile for preceding generations to create and adopt online life, but the exposure of the average young person today to the Web is a constant, natural state. They may, one day, be connected to the e-Everything in ways more immersive than we’d ever imagined – it isn’t hard to see the ubiquitous implantation of Bluetooth earpieces evolve into something like the wearable computer being developed by MIT. Virtual reality will be the next generation’s reality.

What this suggests is that the Internet is not something from which you can or should hide. Put simply, it’s life. Which is why it’s so important to change the model for how parents and kids approach security in the space. Instead of creating a generation gap, the Internet is an opportunity to form a “generation bridge”.

The Internet’s tentacles extend to everything the world has to offer, both positive and negative. As parents, our challenge has always been to enable the former and stifle the latter. There is an enormous amount of content that children shouldn’t have to face, ranging from inappropriate age-related material, to online stalkers and people who don’t have their best interests at heart. Until now, the only option has been to block such risks using software or highly restrictive household rules, at the potential expense of inadvertently blocking access to the good things. It can be a bit like locking our children in their room until they’re 18 to keep them from getting hit by a school bus.

If you want the best evidence that you can’t “just say no” to kids and the Internet, see how computers are becoming an integrated part of the classroom (from computer labs to SMART tables), and some schools are requiring students to use their websites for homework.

So the new way of thinking is to evolve from viewing kids on the Internet as a problem, to viewing it as an opportunity. Every potential foray into the uncharted Internet territories is a chance to open a family dialog, not just hand down a litany of rules. Working together to understand the issues and guide good judgment means parents can give their children tools for a lifetime of using the Internet for good and not for evil.

If you’re concerned about your child being online, especially when you’re not around, you can install and use a family-oriented protection program. But to guide them to safe practices, it’s important to look at the Net from their point of view. According to The Pew Center, kids use the Internet differently than we do. For example: Email is old school in the eyes of the teenager. While we use the computer for financial reasons like banking, buying, and planning our next trip, kids use it to meet each other, gossip, share photos, and communicate in character-limited blurbs (IAWTC, AFAIK, LOLZ).

Social networking is the communication route du jour for your average teenager, where they can share information like feelings, activities, and locations with a wide group of friends. Expressing their feelings online can seem natural and harmless, but it can also be dangerous: you want to know who has access to this information, and who can communicate with your kids, so they’re not approached by a dangerous “friend” with a sympathetic ear.

Self-disclosure goes hand in hand with another danger inherent, and yet rarely addressed, with the web: accountability. Everything that goes on the Internet stays on the Internet. When some of us were teenagers, “www” meant “World Wide Wrestling” which, for better or worse, spared us from sharing our “extremely important” emotional angst in blogs, tweets, and photos. Unfortunately, our kids aren’t spared such blessings of time. Compromising photos, posts, and blogs might seem fun, but they can come out years later as embarrassing or dangerous skeletons in the closet. Kids, and adults too, for that matter, don’t always have the future in mind while posting today. It’s our job to remind them that actions now have ties to the future.

As this understanding of the new online world evolves, so do the tools that help. For example, Symantec has developed a service currently in beta called OnlineFamily.Norton with features and tools to help facilitate, not just intervention and rules, but the type of family alignment that leads to long-term education about the perils of online life. It provides a profile for each child, and fine-tunes the Internet based on your preferences and time limits. It also lets you see who your kids chat with, so you can ensure that their contacts are safe. The program is now in beta and available for testing with your family, or one you know.

The greatest method of keeping your kids safe as they move into an Internet established society is the same as it is offline - develop their knowledge and survival skills through meaningful communication. An open mind and an understanding of how they use the ‘net will help you communicate with them about what’s safe, while their safety knowledge will stick with them when you’re not around. Plus, you just might learn something about living online while you’re at it.