Cons
It's a BIG City
 You will often hear me refer to the internet as a city. A BIG city. No parent in their right mind would allow their child to wander a big city unsupervised. Ditto the web. There are dark, dingy, horrible places in every city that you stay away from. Hey, it would be great if things were family-friendly everywhere, but in human society (and the internet), that is simply not the case. I list this as a con, but it's really more of a basic fact that parents should realize going in.
In the city, there are also areas where you feel comfortable letting your child run free just a bit. There are many family-safe sites that allow you the same freedom. More on this subject in Chapter 3.
Everybody Claims to Be an Expert in Something
Such is the nature of instant publishing that much nonsense gets presented as fact. Hoaxes abound. So do dysfunctional ideas. Therefore, the parent MUST supervise any research that their children pursue online. The aforementioned Wikipedia is a good safe source, but some sites deliberately attempt to mislead with false, sometimes slanderous information.
Imagine if everyone in the big city could easily put their own magazines on the rack at news shop. There would be honest, well-researched publications, but there would likely be as many or more that would be hopelessly (sometimes maliciously) inaccurate.
Are You REALLY Who You Say You Are?
Anonymity is a feature of the web that still largely exists. While our IP address may identify our ISP, perhaps even the region of the country we inhabit, we're still largely incognito. That gives lowlifes the ability to masquerade as someone harmless or even a benefactor. Parents, be VERY inquisitive about email correspondence, instant messaging, and chats that your kids partake in.
So there you have it. Do you stay out of the big city because you don't want your kids going there? Some parents do. But the fact is that the finest museums and libraries are located in the big cities.
|
