Children and the Internet

Publisher Summary Children mainly access the Internet through the World Wide Web. Children use the Web to access information resources through Web searches and browsing preferred Web sites; communicate using e-mail, instant messaging, and discussion; and access music, video, and computer games. Although these child-oriented Internet resources are increasing in number and popularity, given the unorganized and unregulated nature of the Internet, they are not foolproof and children may still be exposed inadvertently to objectionable content. Also, most of these resources are overly restrictive; because of adult content of some encyclopedia articles, children are unable to access ubiquitous resources. It should also be noted that by passively limiting children's access to possibly unseemly information and resources on the Internet, children may not learn to actively appraise and evaluate Internet information. Children's Internet access can be controlled through the use of filtering programs, such as Net Nanny or Cyber Sitter, and children's browsers, such as zExplorer. These commercial programs limit children's access to the Internet, filtering spam, advertising, and content determined inappropriate for children. Because it is difficult to define spam and inappropriate content, these programs necessarily provide very restrictive access to the Internet.