Internet – Pornography Essay, Research Paper

The Internet is an amazing and informative tool. Today, and in years to come, it will without a doubt become the cornerstone for education and communication throughout our society. However, it is currently not regulated by governmental laws and guidelines. It’s contents are accessible to all users – including children! With the explosive growth of Internet usage throughout the world, it is the individual user who needs to take the appropriate precautions to regulate the potentially damaging content found throughout this rapidly expanding new medium. Protecting Children in Cyberspace, “The book every parent, teacher, and guardian should read” describes the latest research on how the Internet, and computers may psychologically harm our children.

Every day, children using the Internet are exposed to:

Deviant pornography, ultra-violent computer games, cigarette and alcohol ads directed at children, pedophiles and other predators targeting children, satanic worship, racist propaganda, recipes for manufacturing narcotics, instructions on how to successfully commit suicide, and so much more!

Raising children in cyberspace will have a far-reaching effect on our society. If we agree that this new medium will dramatically change the experience of childhood, then we must accept the fact that children themselves will be changed. Most of these changes will be positive; some will not. Parents must learn to recognize the potentially harmful effects on their children, and on the parent-child relationship itself, if they are to gain maximum benefit from this medium.

Protecting Children in Cyberspace will teach parents to identify the dangerous material on the Internet, understand how it will impact their children, recognize how the Internet can alter the experience of childhood in negative ways, and teach the reader that some specific parenting skills, when used in combination with a variety of software, can help to protect children in cyberspace.

With freedom comes responsibility. We must all strive to create an Internet-responsible society where children can thrive and learn under the watchful eyes of well-informed and caring adults.