<p>The Web is such a beautiful place. Full of promise and a fountain overflowing with learning opportunities for all of us, young and old.</p>
<p>But only the most naive would deny the dark underbelly that exists in the “wild West” frontier of the Internet. Those of us who encourage our children to be independent must now take a very close second look at their Internet independence and act accordingly.</p>
<p>Like many others, I abhor the whispers and innuendos of government influence (as in taxing, as in controlling) of our beloved cyberworld. If we want to remain free of Big Brother, however, some vigilante justice may have to have to come into play to deal with the predatory influences that proliferate on the Internet.</p>
<p>Take Myspace.com, for example. It seems innocuous enough; our children talk to their close friends and develop a community through those connections. But look a little closer and you will see that Myspace.com is a portal to influences to which most parents would NEVER willingly give their children access. If your teen-aged child has a computer behind a closed door without the most invasive of parental controls, you have no idea what he or she may be exposed to. How many parents have actually explored Myspace and experienced the gauntlet of pop-ups? I have, and I quickly realized that what is already inside the home may be more dangerous than whatever lurks outside.</p>
<p>We spend untold amounts of money to protect our children behind gates, to keep them actively engaged in activities that benefit their minds, bodies and souls, and then, at the end of the day, we turn them over to the Internet, where much or most of our decade-long efforts can be overturned with a simple click, click, click. </p>
<p>And you can never even hope to have the satisfaction of seeing the face behind the curtain, the person whose tempting pop-ups lay in wait to steal your childrens’ innocence, or their integrity. He or she or they are anonymous; they live behind the shadow curtain of the Internet.</p>
<p>“Mini golf” or watching basketball game videos are by far the most benign temptations that await children on the Internet. The fact that this teacher’s students could so easily “set him up” with child porn images speaks for itself.</p>
<p>We’ve been locking all the doors to keep our children safe, but I’m beginning to think we should have locked the computers instead. I suppose the ACLU would disagree with me. Our Congressmen and Senators appear to be oblivious to the threat. The religious community is aware and clamors for action, but their perceived influence is much higher than their actual influence. </p>
<p>So who’s on first? As usual, parents are left alone to fight the most important of battles. Bill Gates himself advocates parental controls on the Internet. His oldest is ten, however. I wish him luck hanging over the shoulder of his sixteen-year-old. That’s what I do, and I can tell you, I’m not winning any popularity points at the moment…</p>