R u being Watched?

[Angel Amor]

July 24, 2006

Watching Your Kids Online

In many cities there have been television stations, for years, running an ominous-sounding public-service message: "It's ten o'clock. Do you know where your children are?"

If the answer is, "Sure, they're at home," that's a little less reassuring than it used to be.

Consider these numbers from a survey commissioned by Common Sense Media, an online service that provides parents with information and reviews:

• 85% of Parents say the Internet is the most risky [medium] for kids, compared to 13% for TV

• 80% of Parents worry about predators in their kids’ Internet use

• 76% of Parents say they would like to make the Internet a safer place for kids

• 83% of Parents say there is no excuse for not knowing enough about the Internet to protect your kids or teens

That's why a new generation of software is selling as if...well, as if the safety of America's children depended on it. The programs have such names as "eBlaster," "Content Protect," "IM Einstein" and "Safe Eyes." Several manufacturers say their sales have tripled in the last three years.

Whereas older programs--or your ability to check cookies--told you what websites a kid had accessed online, the newest ones will record screen grabs, keystrokes, or the content of online chats--and make them available to a nervous parent, at work, in real time. That's a big issue, especially with a lot of two-career couples leaving kids at home in the afternoon, and more in the summer.

(An obvious disclaimer: our mention of a particular program here is not an endorsement, and not a suggestion that these programs are better than others on the market. These are programs whose popularity we've been able to check.)

One mother we spoke with said she'd installed a monitoring program--and soon found her teenage daughter doing image searches for "hot sexy guys."

Another working parent, from Highland, Utah, said she found her daughter getting IMs from a kid named Alex, who was "sending messages to brag about his sexual prowess in what I thought was a very inappropriate way." Mother and daughter had a serious talk that night.

To be sure, parents in the Common Sense Media poll also saw benefits to their children's web use:

• 91% of Parents say that the Internet helps their kids explore things they’re passionate about

• 77% of Parents say they see the Internet as an important tool to help their kids learn

But there's enough worry out there to have created a growth industry. A fair number of parents are getting emails at work, every time one of their kids uses a forbidden word.

It creates all sorts of issues that many companies haven't considered. We had a conversation with Nancy Flynn, Executive Director of the ePolicy Institute, which, among other things, does polling on workplace issues for the American Management Association.

Remember, she said, that while you're monitoring your kid, it's fairly likely that your employer is monitoring you. 55% of companies in a survey she did were scanning their employees' email--and 26% had fired someone in the past for misusing email. She doesn't know of anyone who's lost a job for caring what their kids are up to, but it could get thorny.

"If an employee is viewing an image on a screen in her cubicle and her boss walks by, a customer walks by, a supplier walks by, or a prospective employee walks by and is offended by that image, that could create a litigation issue for the organization."

Jonathan Silverstein of our staff has written more on this HERE. And video of the piece we did for "World News" is HERE.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/scienceandsociety/

Edited July 25, 2006 by Angel Amor

[Luigie]

damn, so the kids are bein watched, i doubt around here will be popular to use the software, but countreis like US will be the favs...poor kids.

[WesSyde]

its a touchy and controversial subject. i think in a way it's like listening to music talkin about violence and sex, etc. kids are only gonna do something if they have problems. i know i would never ever meet anyone who i didnt know from a chat room cuz thats just common sense to me. so in a way, i think any kids who get caught up in that stuff are being mislead by their parents for not getting them involved in enough activities to where they arent on the computer 8 hours a day looking for something to do. but u can't fault parents for being protective and showing concern because we've all heard the horror stories of chat rooms and myspace and all that. i just think if u use common sense and follow a few simple guidelines (ie not giving your address out to strangers) then u wont get hurt by the internet. i would personally be pissed off if my parents were watching my every move. so what if i search for "hot sexy girls"? is that not what guys think about? i think im entitled to my own privacy and choices. but like i said, parents are supposed to be concerned. it's really a double edged sword but in the end i think internet protection comes down to using common sense on the users part, which i guess some people lack.

[viber_91]

Well... I have NOTHING to hide :sick:

[Jazzy Julie]

my dad cant even turn my computer off so he couldnt set up anything like this lol.

[Jonny 5]

Well... I have NOTHING to hide :sick:

:word: