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| ;;Seven Do`s for Kids on the Web |
| By Dr. James A. Taylor. Gateway 2000 Senior Vice President, Global Marketing |
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| What`s the number-one activity for kids on the Internet? Games? Nope. Not even close. Give up? |
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| Schoolwork. In a Gateway 2000 study of 600 children between the ages of 10 and 18, 64% said their primary use for the Web was gathering information for school. That`s first by a mile. Just plain "surfing," kind of an electronic version of exploring the neighborhood just to see what`s there, was second with 57%. |
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| I`ve been talking around the country about what we call the Warm Wide Web lately. A lot of people think the Internet is an inherently hostile place for children. You`ve heard some of the horror stories that came from kids spending a lot of unsupervised time in the wrong part of the cyber playground. |
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| But there are a lot of good stories about kids and the Web too. Thousands of success stories. For one thing, the World Wide Web is simple the largest, most convenient public repository of knowledge and opinion in history. Literally billions of pages of information are within reach of you and your Gateway PC. |
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| That`s why banning kids from the Internet is like locking them out of the library. So let`s get out the keys to the front door and help our kids learn from this huge center of knowledge. |
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| To help you, we`ve come up with the "Seven Do`s for Kids on the Web." These are guidelines that, mixed with your own good judgement and love for your children, will help them get the huge benefits from the Web while steering clear of the isolated dangers. And, as a bonus, you`ll probably increase your computer knowledge along the way. |
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| 1. Do encourage kids to go online. Don`t lock them out of the cyber library. |
| 2. Do embrace the Internet as an educational tool. Let your kids know you recognize this medium as a positive for education. |
| 3. Do be careful with strangers. The Internet does not suspend the normal rules of behavior when meeting strangers. Be friendly but cautious. Use common sense and teach your kids to guard their anonymity. |
| 4. Do surf as a family. The family that surfs together learns together. You need to be there to share the experience, make sure your kids stay in appropriate areas and answer your kid`s questions (and they will have some). The Web is global, so your kids may be talking to kids from other cultures. They`ll need you to answer questions about cultural differences or help them examine our cultural practices compared to those of the kids they interact with on the Web. Besides, why should the kids have all the fun exploring this fascinating New World? |
| 5. Do use the right tools. There is adult material out there that is very unsuitable for kids. We need to acknowledge that and deal with it. One of the ways to deal with it is to use available software that blocks access to adult sites. This helps, but parents still need to keep an eye on where kids go for social and political information as well. Get some technology on your side helping you protect your kids. |
| 6. Do talk about the Internet. Nothing demystifies a topic like conversation. Talk to your kids about the Internet in general and what they see on it is specific. Let them know it`s a cool topic discussion with you and that they should always come to you with questions and opinions about the Internet. |
| 7. Do learn the rules of the road. Help your kids learn "netiquette" - the language, the people, the customs of the Web. You`ll pick it up during your Net travels. |
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| You are responsible for your own children, of course, but suing these guidelines as you approach the Internet can help you and your children enjoy being part of this new frontier. |
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| Being Internet frontier families brings huge potential benefits. Our research shows that kids consider their peers who use PC`s as "smart" and "cool," not geeky or introverted. When children use PCs, they can get better grades. Our research showed report card marks went up among kids who use computers. Of the kids we surveyed, 56% reported grade improvements after they started using computers more than four hours a week. |
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| So don`t be afraid to surf. Take if from the Spot Doc: Follow the seven do`s and come on in, the digital water`s fine. |
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