Beware of Newsgroups
March 18th, 2009 | by Sam Garnebo |Protecting Your Children from Newsgroups: What You Should Know
Frequently known as bulletin boards, online newsgroups act as open forums for groups of people who share similar interests. Those who participate in a newsgroup can post and read messages, as well as upload and download content.
Popular newsgroups focus on a variety of subjects that can differ between politics and economics or from video games and sea creatures. Some forums are more limited while others are open to anything that pops into your head.
Once a posting is made, anyone with access to the internet can read and respond to the material. There are currently more than 100,000 newsgroups on the Usenet website, with an estimated 20,000 of them being active. Although newsgroups might appear harmless on the surface, there are many reasons to keep your children away from the material they contain.
Here is why newsgroups are unsafe for children:
Similar to online communities , newsgroups also possess the mentality that there are no restraints to what can be posted. For example, stories can be posted that include child molestation or even promote it.
It is hard to digest, but pedophiles often use newsgroups as a medium to connect with other pedophiles in hopes of sharing child pornography or other unimaginable things. There have also been reports of criminal organizations leveraging internet technology in attempt to make drug connections via newsgroups. You would be appalled at what occurs in these forums, as they are a popular hangout for all types of unscrupulous groups and individuals.
Parents with children who regularly use the internet should really be concerned about newsgroups. Most of these forums are un-moderated, with no one overseeing the material. Even those that appear innocent often stray off into inappropriate content when the original subject was related to school work.
For a child to view content that includes sex, pornography, hate, rasicm, and much more they just need to visit a newsgroup site on a computer that has an internet connection. A child will be damaged emotionally by some of the content available and it could even cause them to develop a desire for some of the filth.
Besides that, your kid could download explicit content and hide it from you. Again, anyone can make a phony profile and attempt to contact your child, so they can lure your child out of the house. These are just a few main reasons to be cautious of these internet sites. Please love your child enough to protect them from possible danger.
Saying No to Newsgroups
All kinds of demented people are in our world today who have been given a great hiding spot via the internet. To any parent who cares about their child getting involved with the dangers that are in these forums three tips are available that should help you protect your child.
1.) Keep your child’s activity in online forums limited. If they are a part of such a community, make sure it is being moderated accordingly and that the topics are appropriate.
2.) You can make sure your child understand the dangers of putting photos or personal information on these sites.
3.) Internet filtering software can restrict your children entirely from these social communities. Newsgroups and other sites that may contain undesired material can be filtered out by you using a filter.
Educating yourself is the first step to understanding the threat of newsgroups. The second step is putting your knowledge into action and keeping your kids away from these dangers.