Print versionManaging the risks
The internet offers an enormous range of opportunities—instant communication, information discovery and online publishing open up a world of exploration for all users. However, there are potential problems and risks associated with internet use. By adopting an internet safety strategy, library patrons can be protected online. There are four basic ways you can help to keep library patrons safe online:
- education;
- encouragement and support;
- make the computer safe; and
- supervision.
Using all four ways together will give you the best results. The aim is to protect users, especially children, and get them to the point where they can make the right decisions when faced with a dangerous situation online.
Resources for young children
A number of publicly accessible resources have been developed by organisations with a particular responsibility for educating about internet safety. These resources aim to demystify what seems like complex technologies.
It is important to teach children how to use the internet safely from as early an age as possible. One interactive resource is Netty’s World, developed by NetAlert. Parents or carers can sign a registration form to enable their children to join Netty’s Club.
Netty’s World
Netty’s World (www.nettysworld.com.au) is designed for young children starting out on the internet. It provides an interactive and safe environment for children to play in, while providing important messages about internet safety.
NetAlert encourages parents to take their children through the online storybook, ‘Netty’s Net Adventure’, where important internet safety messages are explained. Following this, children are encouraged to play the interactive games which reinforce internet safety messages.
Cyberquoll
Cyberquoll (www.cyberquoll.com.au) is an interactive resource for primary school children aged from 8–12 years. It consists of six online interactive games designed to explore internet safety issues relevant to primary school aged children.
Cybersmart Kids Online
Smart net surfing for kids and their grown-ups, produced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
Cybersmart Kids Online website (www.cybersmartkids.com.au)
The World Wide Web
Visiting websites is the most common activity library patrons undertake on the internet. Children and adolescents accessing the internet using a computer or another enabled device may be confronted with material that is disturbing or inappropriate. The Australian Government, states and territories have responded to this with a number of initiatives. These include statewide wide area networks (WANs), filtering services and moderated search engines.
Email (electronic mail) is a message that can be sent over the internet to someone else. It is one of the services provided by an internet service provider (ISP). It is like sending a letter or a postcard instantly to anywhere in the world. Documents, images, text, music and movies can be attached to emails.
The risks with email include spam or spamming, ‘flaming’, ‘bombing’, stalking, viruses, bullying and inappropriate content.
Chatting
Chatting is a way of communicating with a number of people at the same time by typing messages that then appear on your computer screen, and are sent across the internet to be read by everyone else participating in the ‘chat room’, a virtual meeting place. The process of taking part is known as ‘chatting’. Participants are sometimes known as ‘chatters’. Chat rooms have an element of anonymity about them, so children and adolescents often talk about things they may not have the confidence to say face-to-face. They can pretend to be someone else – older, smarter or more popular.
The anonymity of participants may lead library patrons to engage in unsafe behaviour or to become susceptible to cyber stalkers who can skilfully imitate a young person’s voice and sound the same age as the library patron. Library patrons need to be careful about how much personal information they give out to the people with whom they are chatting.
Instant messaging
Instant messaging is a form of online chat involving two or more individuals. When you send an instant message to someone it appears on their screen almost instantly. Some services also allow the sending of files to one another. Internet messaging is also called IM, Iming, internet relay chat (IRC) or ICQ (‘I seek you’). Using instant messaging programs exposes library patrons to a number of risks. Private conversations are easy to start with anybody, real-time conversations can occur with strangers and personal information may be inadvertently released.
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networking
P2P networking programs are applications that run on personal computers with the intent to share files with users across the internet.
P2P networks work by connecting individual computers, forming file sharing communities. Members of the community—that is, those people who have installed P2P applications on their computers—can then search for files or share files with the rest of the community. When a search is conducted, all the available computers that are sharing files in the community are asked for the file and, if found, the user can start downloading it.
Common uses for P2P networking include sharing music, pictures, movie files and other documents.
Risks associated with this technology can be exposure to inappropriate content, downloading of viruses or spyware, or breaching copyright regulations for protected works. Often files that are downloaded are not what they say they are in the filename or file description.
Web authoring
Many library patrons develop websites for school projects or for personal interest. It is essential that they protect their identities by not publishing detailed personal information, names, email addresses or photographs.
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