The internet – including the world wide web and also cellphone chat services like MXit – is truly a revolution. Never before has there been such a large and accessible resource of information; never before has it been so easy to communicate with other people anywhere in the world; and never before has the publishing of information – from news to research to personal diaries – been done so much by ordinary people. In the history of the world, human beings have never been more informed and more connected.
Such a resource presents enormous opportunities for teaching and learning, playing and socialising. On the other hand, it also brings risks. We are all too aware of young people being abducted by “friends” that they made online, or pictures of naked children that will forever do the rounds on the internet, constantly haunting that boy or girl into adulthood.
As adults, we have a duty to protect children from the risks of the internet, while allowing them to explore its many opportunities. How best to do this? There is no quick and easy answer; time and interest need to be invested in talking to children and guiding them. One approach not to take is that of gatekeeper – to think that we can control what children access and do online.
In a 2007 interview, danah boyd, a leading online social network expert in the USA, pointed out that as adults we still think that we can be the gatekeepers of information, and therefore we don’t need to teach critical thinking. “We think we can protect them from the dangers of the world, and magically when they’re 18 and they leave the house, they’re fine. This hasn’t worked so well! There is a socialisation process in the physical world and there’s a socialisation process with information as well.” This is true, we teach children how to identify and avoid suspicious looking characters in the physical world, or how to cross the road, but we don’t think the same way about how to navigate and socialise online.
It is a difficult mindset change for many adults. Earlier this month the Computer Society of South Africa hosted a seminar titled The Dangers of Children Using the Internet and Other Technologies. The invitation to the event lamented that “unfortunately, nobody exercises complete control over the online world in any centralized manner … How do we identify and deal with problems before our children are exposed to dangerous situations?”
The mindset here is one of gatekeeper. Firstly, it is a good thing that nobody exercises complete control over the internet in any centralized manner. China and Burma are trying to do this, thankfully without complete success. Secondly, the assumption is that children cannot think for themselves and only adults can protect them. This is simply not a feasible approach! As a colleague pointed out, this is akin to thinking we need to hold the hand of anyone under 18 whenever he or she crosses the road.
The most important thing to remember is that we need to talk to learners about these things. Talk to them about the risks of chatting repeatedly to a total stranger, or that embarrassing pictures that are forwarded on are never deleted. Ask them: “Do you want to live with that?” Some guidelines and tips can also be found at MXit guidelines for parents and MXit protection features for users. Not all of these points might be relevant to your situation – after all, some children need more guidance than others – but they provide a good starting point.