Do you have a child or teenager who wants to use internet chat rooms or is your child already using them? If so, it is critically important that you and your child are aware of the dangers associated with online chat rooms.
The internet and computer make it easy for anyone to be anyone they want to be. In fact, an internet user can claim to be someone famous, a superhero, or another teenager. There is nothing out there to stop them.
Your child should be aware of the dangers associated with exchanging personal information with strangers or “online friends” if they use a chat room for teenagers or younger children. Because, anyone can be on the other end of the computer.
Using online chat rooms can pose a risk, such as screen names. To help protect your child on the internet, it’s essential they create a different screen name specifically for the chat room. This should not be an email address, part of their full name, or a name that appears on other online sites or message boards – doing so could enable predators to uncover their true identity.
It is critical to be aware that anyone can access a chat room. This reality is too often overlooked by parents, who assume that a room designated for kids aged 14-17 means all participants are the same age.
However, typically no age verification is required to join most online chats. Additionally, thanks to the internet, people can easily create a bogus identity to target unsuspecting children and young internet users.
One of the advantages of internet chat rooms for children and teenagers is that they can easily connect with a large number of other participants. The unfortunate part is that not all parents are aware of the potential issue of private messaging programs in some chat rooms.
These could be exploited by someone much older, such as a 50 or 60 year old, to send a direct message and possibly harm their child. This type of interaction between online predators and youth is what often leads to dangerous situations.
There are many dangers associated with internet chat rooms, as you can see. Does this mean your child shouldn’t use them? Ultimately, it’s up to you, as a parent, to decide. That said, you should take a number of factors into account, such as your child’s maturity level and age. Are you confident that your child will follow the rules regarding online chat rooms and the use of the internet?
It is important to have rules in place if you let or know your child is using internet chat rooms. Do not let them go to chat rooms that are for adults only, since this makes them easy targets.
Also, make sure they know that just because someone claims to be 15 years old does not mean that they are. In addition, they should not share photos or videos of themselves, even if they are asked, or give any other personal information.
If internet chat rooms worry you, you may want to steer your child towards online message boards instead. Often referred to as online forums, posts are published separately, rather than in a live chat. Although there is no guarantee of safety, most juvenile boards are supervised by a responsible adult meaning any inappropriate comments should be taken down quickly.
