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| By: Sha - at January 13, 2013 |
How Can You Help a Child or Teen with an Internet Addiction?
With the internet becoming so popular, a new form of addiction is gaining
notoriety involving young people and the internet. Getting help for an
internet addicted child or teen may seem like an overwhelming task, but when the
right steps are followed it is possible to get them help. There
are potentially millions of children at risk of being targeted by paedophiles
due to interactions with strangers in chat rooms. Parents need to think more about
what the potential dangers of the
internet are, and how they can protect their children. There are many parents who are aware
of the dangers the internet poses to their children, but there are many parents
who are not tech savvy enough to understand what the dangers are. By being
computer illiterate, these parents are incapable of protecting their children
digitally. There are more and more reports about adults attempting to start
sexual relationships with minors over chat rooms, children becoming addicted to online pornography,
and children developing abnormal and aggressive behavior. Internet safety is a
major issue today for parents and only by understanding the risks the internet
poses to young people can parents be prepared to handle them successfully.
The internet is full of sexual predators, obscene websites, cyber bullies, and online scams. Chat rooms
are a safe haven for sexual predators who don't even hesitate when given
the opportunity to talk to a minor. They lurk on many different types of chat
rooms targeting children and teens. Chatting online is like an addiction
which over time can generate serious problems for children. Children are the most
vulnerable in chat rooms as they tend to believe anything someone tells them.
Being overly trusting and generally inexperienced in life matters, children are
extremely vulnerable online. Paedophiles manipulate their victims, taking
advantage of a child's inexperience and delicate
feelings.
To protect children from the
danger that chat rooms present, a new virtual ID card has been launched in the
UK, US, Canada and Australia to improve children's safety on the Internet. Children can swap this card
(known as the NetIDMe card) online when
using chat rooms, instant messaging and social networking websites. This virtual
card will likely make it harder for adults to pose as children online and
serves as a great step in digital security for kids.
Parents should advise their
children and explain the dangers by following these recommendations:
-
 Tell
your children to never give out personal information about themselves, where
they live, the schools they go to, etc. If they have to, tell them to do so
only if they know the person well enough.
-
Never
allow your children to send a picture of themselves unless they know the
person.
-
Never
allow webcams to be used by children on their own.
-
Never, under any circumstances, arrange to meet anyone met through contact
on the computer. No one can guarantee who they will meet in this way.
-
Inform your children to let you know what they are doing and the contacts
they make on the Internet.
-
Children should be using computers in the open where parents can observe and
monitor.
-
Parents need to monitor all sites the child is visiting making sure
nothing too obscene is being accessed.
There
is no denying the fact that the Internet is a major part of everyone's life. Young people practically live on the internet using it for school, gaming, and
quick communication. Helping a child or teen with an internet addiction is certainly a difficult task
much like an intervention for a traditional drug addict. If you make your children
understand the danger of using the internet unsafely and if they understand
that it is for their own protection, they will be inclined to listen to you. Encourage them to use the Internet safely and provide them with positive
reinforcement while they make progress.
Please share your thoughts below on what has worked for you to help your
child with chat room addiction or any other kind of internet addiction!
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How Can You Help a Child or Teen with an Internet Addiction? |
