|
The Internet is a huge technological
achievement promising great benefits to society in general and
to children and young people in particular, especially in the
fields of education and entertainment. However, as with many new
or emerging technologies, the Internet has brought a number of
unfamiliar problems in its wake. Some of these can create
potential dangers to children and young people, and while we do
not want in any way to exaggerate the potential dangers, the
fact is that they do exist. It would be small comfort for a
child or a young person, or their parents, to realise after the
event that the probability of them becoming a victim was small
and they were therefore just unlucky. No responsible parent or
carer would ever leave such things to chance. Parents and carers therefore first need to know about the
possible hazards to children and young people on the Internet
and, in turn, they need to know how to deal with them. This
publication aims to meet those needs.
We have tried to avoid using any technical jargon as much as
possible, but sometimes it is impossible.
When you want to get back to where you were just click Back,
which is usually in the top left hand corner of your browser.
What is the internet?
Across the world, universities, art galleries, museums,
research institutes, schools, newspapers, TV and radio stations,
banks, charities, youth organisations, all sorts of commercial
companies and private individuals, are putting information,
pictures, sounds, software, goods or services for sale on to
computers and computer networks and allowing other computers to
access them. This network of interconnected computers and
networks is what is commonly referred to as the Internet.
The educational possibilities of the Internet are tremendous.
The Internet has become a vast library that you can bring into
your home, and usually all for the cost of a local telephone
call. And there's lots of scope for all sorts of other
activities. With the latest software, much of which is free, the
Internet is very easy to use. People with little or no knowledge
or previous experience of computers can quickly learn the
basics.
Arguably there has never before been anything quite like the
Internet. Never before have we seen a single, common device,
such as a computer, with so many different capabilities and
which is relatively cheap as well as being very widely
available. Increasingly we are also going to be able to get on
to the Internet without having to have a computer at all.
Internet access is being integrated into mobile phones and TV
sets, and that's only for starters!
When you hook up to the Internet you are not just gaining access
to a shopping mall, the Post Office, a telephone, a teacher,
public and private meetings places, a research centre, a music
system and a games machine one-by-one, you are gaining access to
all of these things and more. We all need to start thinking
about this development in entirely new and novel ways.
A many marvelled thing
The Internet can be many things to many people:
Through electronic mail, normally known as e-mail, it can be a
way of exchanging messages very rapidly with people anywhere in
the world.
Through something called Usenet Groups, or Newsgroups (which are
a bit like electronic bulletin boards), it can be a means of
keeping in touch with people who share an interest in a
particular subject, such as stamp collecting, films or whatever:
the list is almost endless and you can always start new groups
if necessary.
It can be a way of chatting with other people, in Chat Rooms,
normally by typing messages that are sent, received and viewed
more or less simultaneously.
By linking a microphone to a PC it is also possible to use the
Internet to make telephone calls.
Instant messaging works a bit like Chat Rooms do and is becoming
very popular: one of the most popular systems enables people to
be notified whenever a particular person logs on to their
computer anywhere in the world so they can then, if they want,
meet with their friends online and chat.
As web cams (special cameras that work with computers) are
becoming cheaper and easier to acquire and use, people can even
see each other over the Internet and conduct conversations.
Live video-conferencing as well as TV and radio broadcasts from
stations all over the world are also becoming more and more
accessible to people as the Internet's capacity grows and
telephone call charges continue to fall.
It can be a way of checking news stories, making travel and
holiday reservations, banking, or buying a broad range of goods
or services (some of which you can first inspect on-screen),
trading in stocks and shares or getting involved in many other
forms of e-commerce.
Often when buying goods or services online we use encryption: an
electronic means of converting the information we are sending
over the Internet into a secure secret code which can only be
unscrambled by the person or company intended to receive it, but
encryption can also be used to hide things we do not want others
to see.
It can be a way of picking up or exchanging information or
files, helping with homework or the kids' school projects.
The Internet is a bit like a big modern city
Most of today's adults learnt how to be streetwise from their
parents, who in turn had learnt it from their parents. With the
Internet, there isn't really an older generation around who can
pass on their accumulated wisdom and experience to the next.
That's where this publication can help fill the gap.
It has long been taken for granted that we must ensure our older
children are streetwise before we let them go off on their own
in our modern towns and cities, and when younger children go
into the city they should be accompanied by an adult at all
times. We teach children to be wary of strangers, not to go
with, or accept gifts or lifts from, people they do not know,
and so on.
In many ways the Internet is just like a big modern city. It has
all sorts of people in it and there are all sorts of places
within its boundaries. The great majority of the people are
perfectly decent and respectful of others, and the great
majority of places are entirely safe for anyone. But sadly that
is not true of everyone or everywhere.
So today, before we let our children go on the Internet, before
we let them go online, we must also ensure that they are
OpenGuide: that they are streetwise in cyberspace.
This guide explains the
OpenGuide idea and sets out in detail the OpenGuide rules.
It also explains some of the basic terms and ideas used everyday
on the Internet. If you are not already familiar with the
OpenGuide idea have a look at the OpenGuide rules now. Whatever
your age they will always stand you in good stead. |
