Online and Beyond

Over the last fewe days I have been thinking about the ways that we all communicate and how the internet has had a big impact on most peoples lives. I got to think that it would be a great help to some people, getting them in touch with relatives, friends etc. Some house bound people could also use the internet to help them establish a little bit of independance, just by doing their oen shopping online.

I realised that I was maybe looking at this through rose tinted glasses and that I needed to take a much more critical look at it! I started thinking about the ways that the internet can hinder people, I immediately started to think about chat rooms and children using them. Knowing the dangers that can be there, I asked myself "what would I do if my son/daughter wanted to join a chat site", very easily I answered my own question, as I helped my nephew join a site after I had explained the dangers, the rules and the expectations that we had of him using the site.

I think that we need to keep a careful eye on children using the internet, but I also think that they need to feel trusted in using the internet, chat sites etc to allow them to feel independent. If children are always told not to do something, they will go out and do it anyway and twice as bad!!

Using these sites should be done with caution and an understanding of what is out there but also with the knowledge that it can be helpful in many ways and is a part of todays society!