Why Kids Should Not Be on the Internet - Essay Example

Why kids should not be on the internet Introduction Internet has opened the doors of immense possibilities to all the people irrespective of young, youths or older ones. It has revolutionized not only the world of communication, but it has influenced almost every segment of human life at present. It is impossible to imagine a world without computers or internet currently. But along with lot of advantages it causes certain problems also in the society. Just like nuclear energy, Computers and internet can be useful as well as harmful. Both have constructive and destructive impacts on the society. Both are essential for modern society. The success remains in how cleverly we utilize them for the wellbeing of the people. Internet is just like an ocean of knowledge for all the people. But the problem is that this ocean consists of good and evils. Only the matured persons will be able to select and segregate good things from internet whereas immature people always fell in to this ocean as victims of the bad things. “Internet can provide contents like sexual acts or conduct, lewd exhibitions of genitals, the seven "dirty" FCC words, revealing attire, the use or sale of weapons, game sites designed for teens or older, legal or illegal drugs, legal or illegal gambling, alcohol consumption, explicit violence against people or animals including hate crimes, tobacco use etc to the kids which are harmful in their development as a socially accepted personality and hence the internet usages should be restricted to them. This paper analyses the negative impacts of internet on kids. Problems of using internet by kids Internet consists of sex related contents which is harmful to the kids. One of the major reasons for juvenile offenses is the influence of internet upon children. Segregation of good and evils is difficult for kids because of the growth sex hormones at these ages. It is easy for the juveniles to watch movies filled with violence and sexual activities using internet websites like YouTube. Internet is used by kids playing video games and relaxing purposes. It is difficult for them to search for serious things at this age because of the peculiarity of their age. After a busy work outs in the classrooms most of the children uses internet for watching something interesting to them. “The Internet is an invaluable tool for adolescents who use it to look for answers to personal, sensitive, and embarrassing questions about their bodies, relationships, and health. A study of 778 teens aged 15-18 in the African nation of Ghana shows that two-thirds had gone online, mainly at cafes with Internet access. All of the teens lived in Ghanas capital, Accra. More than half of the teenage Internet users had sought health information, and sexual health information (including sexually transmitted diseases) was a leading health topic” (De Vries) It is not necessary that the kids always deliberately look for obscene materials in internet. At times accidently such materials can be displayed in the computer screen. “For example, an 8-year-old might do an online search for "Lego." But with just one missed keystroke, the word "Legs" is entered instead, and the child may be directed to a slew of websites with a focus on legs — some of which may contain pornographic material”(Kids health) Thus the kid is unknowingly presented with obscene materials. The unknown things force the kid to look for more and more such obscene materials and finally may become an addict of pornographic materials. No parent will suspect an eight year old for such misuse of internet at that particular age. Violence is another dangerous thing which can influence the juveniles while they are surfing through internet. The violence filled internet contents can motivate kids to engage in such ach activities either at home, school or in the society. Display and sale of dangerous weapons through internet may motivate teenagers to purchase one and use it in the society. Former US President Clinton has once said while addressing the congressmen that the recent deadly school shootings, shows “a changing culture" of violent movies and video games that teach children they can lash out with guns (Clinton Says School Shooting Incidents Reflect `Changing Culture) Internet is a paradise for great gamblers. Credit card forgery, phishing like internet scams are increasing day by day and even intelligent adults fall victims of such cheaters. It is easy for such tricksters to cheat the kids, if the parents fail to put an eye on their child’s activities in internet. Over dependence of computers sometimes reduce the thinking ability of a child. They will use internet for everything and the readily available information may result in seldom usage of their brains. The growth of mental faculties is depend on how cleverly one analyses a problem and the readily available solutions from internet result under usage of brain and hence the much needed numerical ability and analytical skills will not be developed among such children. Computer phobia can create serious health problems to kids. As everybody knows, looking at the computer screens for more than an hour may result in eye fatigue and reduced visibility like eye problems to the kids. Moreover, over usage of internet often result in some kind of back pains and other physical problems. Most of the kids utilize computers and internet for their leisure activities instead of going for a physical workout sessions. Physical workouts are very much important during the early developments of the kids for the proper growth and strengthening of their muscles. Moreover, lack of physical exercises often results in obesity or overweight related problems to kids. Obesity can cause lack of self esteem and it can negatively impact the behaviour and socialization skills of the kid as the peers will always make unnecessary comments upon them. “Extant literature shows that childrens exposure to inappropriate internet content yields many negative outcomes such as increased aggression, fear, desensitization, poor school performance, prevalence of symptoms of psychological trauma, antisocial behaviour, negative self-perception, low self-esteem, lack of reality, identity confusion, and more” (John) For some kids over use of internet can even create psychological problems. Just like alcohol and drug addiction internet addiction can create lot of emotional problems and mental disorders to the kids. For example, a kid who is addicted to internet cannot stay normal if some problem occurs to the internet connection or the computer which prevent him from surfing the internet. “Some individuals become addicted to the internet, thus jeopardizing their own relationships, as their need to access the internet takes control of their life” (Negative effects of the Internet) “There are adults prepared to portray themselves as something they are not, in order to attract children, who they are then able to groom. The internet has provided a forum for this kind of abuse, and has enabled paedophiles to be able to find each other and share images, which would have been much more difficult in the past” (Negative effects of the Internet) It is easy for the adults who have bad intentions can misuse the kids for their personal activities. Message boards, e-mails, internet chats, Webcams etc can be misused by malicious adults in order to catch the attraction of the kids for misusing them. Recommendations for reducing internet misuse by kids Prevention is better than cure. The above slogan is true in the case of internet also as far as kids are concerned. Only the restricted or controlled usage of internet should be allowed to the children and that also in the presence of their teachers or parents. They should make the children aware of the fact that, if not used judiciously computers have negative impacts also. They should ensure that computer phobia should not be developed by children. Fixed timings for the usage of computer by the children under the supervision will reduce the malpractices. Over usage of computers should be regulated. Streamlining of the computer usage in a positive manner will always help the children in avoiding the unwanted things from internet. Proper communication between parents, students and teachers always help to avoid misunderstandings. Conclusions Internet has both good and bad effects on kids. Exposure of obscene materials and violence at an age when the kids were unable to segregate between the good and the evils will always lead towards socially unexpected behaviour from kids. Adults can easily attract the kids attention using different communication means through internet and they can misuse kids for their personal benefits. Over usage of internet can cause physical and mental problems to the kids. Internet phobia may result in lack of physical workouts and obesity and lack of self esteem like physical and mental problems can creep in among kids due to internet addiction. Works Cited 1. “Clinton Says School Shooting Incidents Reflect `Changing Culture”.1998. 11 October 2009. 2. De Vries, Lloyd.2006. “Pros And Cons Of Kids Web Use”. 11 October 2009. 3. John, Cheon, Hongsik.2005. “Childrens exposure to negative Internet content: effects of family context”. 11 October 2009. 4. Kid’s health. 2009. “Internet”. 11 October 2009. 5. “Negative effects of the Internet”.2009. 11 October 2009. 6. Sinrod, Eric J. “Kids.us: A Safe Place on the Internet for Children?”. USA Today. 11 October 2009. Read More