Internet Safety

Internet Chat Room Guidelines for parents

What are Chat Rooms?

Chat Rooms are an area of the the internet where people can exchange information on a number of subjects including music, sports, computers, politics etc.

The chat rooms can 'enable' communications either on a 1 to 1 basis or 1 to many, and unlike email, the process takes place in real time, with virtually no delay. Some ISPs offer 'moderated' chat rooms (such as AOL) where offensive material is monitored - the rest is a free-for-all.

What should I do?

This information is geared to parents. See below for sites for children and young people.

You have always taught your children to be wary of strangers - the same is true of the internet. The dangers are no less simply because they are electronic! Here are things to talk to your children about.

• Hang on to your personal information - never give out your e-mail or home address, phone number or where you go to school.
• Arranging to meet is dangerous. Never meet someone offline unless you are sure who they are, and then in a public place with a parent or carer.
• Tell your friends or an adult if you come across something that makes you feel uncomfortable.
• Schools - don't post pictures of children with their names to your web-sites.
• Parents - don't allow your children to run their computers from their bedrooms - keep the internet connection in the living room. This is not a case of snooping, but a vital safeguard against pornography and potentially dangerous situations.
• TRUST is earned - don't take it for granted.

What are the problems?

The main concern is that the identity of an individual is masked by the internet ('on the internet nobody knows you are a dog').

There are numerous examples of teenagers thinking they are forming relationships with other teens, but it then transpires that one of the parties is in fact a middle-aged man with less than honest intentions. This has been widely reported in the press on both sides of the Atlantic.