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Letter from the Editor: Tech terrors caused by Omegle, Chatroulette in Radnor
After Radnor police held a press conference last week to warn parents about video chat websites, I was worried.
Not primarily because many of our local children can easily access websites like Omegle or Chatroulette and find the inappropriate nude videocasts that reside there. I was worried because, as police Superintendent William Colarulo pointed out, many parents living on the Main Line appear to be unaware of these websites.
The fact that these sites are new to some of us shows an alarmingly insufficient understanding and knowledge of communication technology, which unfortunately is endangering our children. Of course, there is an even greater danger to conventionalize this technology as a hazard that our children must avoid. I’ll get to that later.
Chatroulette, the popular video chat website allowing users the ability to talk to strangers at random, launched in 2009 - nearly four years ago.
But comments at mainlinemedianews.com show a frightening example of not only a lack of understanding this technology but the stereotypical reaction we hear in cases involving the dangers of the Internet.
One reader who chose to post an anonymous comment under the name “Guest,” pointed out that our schools are posting homework assignments online, “making it impossible for parents to have any control over computer time or computer browsing.”
This point is completely backward.
While there is an obvious concern of which websites our children are visiting on the Internet, we also need to keep in mind that many college students are graduating without jobs because they don’t have the necessary skills in what has become a largely Web-savvy job market.
When your college graduate is interviewed, familiarity and the ability to adapt or learn to adapt to the digital world using digital tools is going to put them ahead of the competition.
Fear of what our children are seeing on the Internet, and in some cases learning, could eventually drive us from allowing them to become familiar with how to use technology like smartphones, social media and websites for professional purposes like marketing, advertising, manufacturing and simple team management.
As parents, it’s our job to make sure that we are teaching our children to use technology effectively, not only to communicate with friends but to excel on school projects.
We also need to ensure that the morals that exist in the home exist in the digital world too. That means teaching our children to use search engines for learning in cases of recreation (“how to throw a curveball,” “tips to be a better illustrator”) and education (“understanding fractions,” “understanding World War II”).
Of course, let’s not forget that there are tools that parents can use to block inappropriate websites and, yes, our children will find a way around those walls but it is our job to find out how to build a better wall. We can do that as parents by learning and sharing what we know in order to keep our kids safe.
This week, I would love to share any feedback I hear from parents who can offer tips for protecting their children from inappropriate content on the Web. If I receive anything of interest, I’ll post an update to my blog at mainlinepost.blogspot.com, which can be found at mainlinemedianews.com/medialab.
Andy Stettler can be reached at astettler@mainlinemedianews.com and on Twitter at @AndyStettler.
Not primarily because many of our local children can easily access websites like Omegle or Chatroulette and find the inappropriate nude videocasts that reside there. I was worried because, as police Superintendent William Colarulo pointed out, many parents living on the Main Line appear to be unaware of these websites.
The fact that these sites are new to some of us shows an alarmingly insufficient understanding and knowledge of communication technology, which unfortunately is endangering our children. Of course, there is an even greater danger to conventionalize this technology as a hazard that our children must avoid. I’ll get to that later.
Chatroulette, the popular video chat website allowing users the ability to talk to strangers at random, launched in 2009 - nearly four years ago.
But comments at mainlinemedianews.com show a frightening example of not only a lack of understanding this technology but the stereotypical reaction we hear in cases involving the dangers of the Internet.
One reader who chose to post an anonymous comment under the name “Guest,” pointed out that our schools are posting homework assignments online, “making it impossible for parents to have any control over computer time or computer browsing.”
This point is completely backward.
While there is an obvious concern of which websites our children are visiting on the Internet, we also need to keep in mind that many college students are graduating without jobs because they don’t have the necessary skills in what has become a largely Web-savvy job market.
When your college graduate is interviewed, familiarity and the ability to adapt or learn to adapt to the digital world using digital tools is going to put them ahead of the competition.
Fear of what our children are seeing on the Internet, and in some cases learning, could eventually drive us from allowing them to become familiar with how to use technology like smartphones, social media and websites for professional purposes like marketing, advertising, manufacturing and simple team management.
As parents, it’s our job to make sure that we are teaching our children to use technology effectively, not only to communicate with friends but to excel on school projects.
We also need to ensure that the morals that exist in the home exist in the digital world too. That means teaching our children to use search engines for learning in cases of recreation (“how to throw a curveball,” “tips to be a better illustrator”) and education (“understanding fractions,” “understanding World War II”).
Of course, let’s not forget that there are tools that parents can use to block inappropriate websites and, yes, our children will find a way around those walls but it is our job to find out how to build a better wall. We can do that as parents by learning and sharing what we know in order to keep our kids safe.
This week, I would love to share any feedback I hear from parents who can offer tips for protecting their children from inappropriate content on the Web. If I receive anything of interest, I’ll post an update to my blog at mainlinepost.blogspot.com, which can be found at mainlinemedianews.com/medialab.
Andy Stettler can be reached at astettler@mainlinemedianews.com and on Twitter at @AndyStettler.
posted by Andy Stettler at
12:44 PM
3 Comments
