I tried to balance advantages and disadvantages, but if I'm offbase or left something out, please speak out.
The 14 (Potentially) Deadly Cyber Sins
Description: Players assume a character that battles other players who have also assumed characters within the same game. Chatting is a key element to this type of network game.
Examples: Runescape,
Advantages:
RPGs foster imagination and assimilation of sometimes very complicated characters, cultures, and storylines.
Responsible play builds problem solving skills.
Chatting increases typing speed.
Disadvantages:
Players are chatting with people that they may not know
The chats are not moderated in anyway
This open network interaction makes your computer vulnerable to malicious code or hijack attempts
Provides a forum for easily sharing information
“Free” to play, but owners make money selling member lists, installing spyware, or through advertising
Potentially addictive
First Person Shooting Games
Description-the player assumes the position as it they are looking through the eyes and using the body of the character that he is playing and tries to shoot other players with various weapons.
Examples- Halo, Counter Strike (CS), and Unreal
Advantages:
FPS games teach some problem solving strategies;
Increases eye-hand coordination (doesn’t feeding yourself do this too, though?)
Disadvantages-
Kids play it at school instead of doing something productive
It is incredibly engaging- It is difficult to do in moderation and can be an incredible time waster
Requires a large bandwidth
It creates a negative atmosphere when one has eight players glued to their screens yelling things like “Blow his head off!” (Some games include the name of the player above the character’s head.)
Possible to lose a sense of self
Some kids play them almost every time they open their computer
Smack talk often happens and sometime transfers to outside game
Streaming Video Sites
Description: A site that contains many videos that have been submitted by anyone. Viewers are encouraged to write comments and responses, many of which are crude.
Examples-www.funnyjunk.com, www.youtube.com
Advantages:
No additional software needed
Relatively little bandwidth required to view videos, compared to other formats There is some good, safe, and worthwhile content available
Problems-
“Free” (see RPG)
Loose monitoring of video posting (YouTube’s collection is huge and relies on viewers to determine what is appropriate. If a video violates YouTube community standards it may be pulled, only to be reposted slightly edited, or viewers may watch inappropriate content by pressing a button to assert that they at least 18 years of age)
Comments are not moderated and frequently contain profanity, sexually explicit and racist comments, and spam.
Viewers have access to things such as absurd and graphic violence, pornography, hateful language, racist diatribe
Uses enough bandwidth to preclude others accessing internet at home or school
E-mail Solicitations
Description-Many sites ask you to submit your e-mail address as a cost for using their site
Examples-flowers
Advantages:
They’re fun
Disadvantages:
“Free” See RPG
Companies will sell their collection of addresses to other companies for a lot of money
Your email address may be sold repeatedly for a long time
Invites spam and junk snail mail
Compromises privacy
Solution:
Enter a fictional email address to access these sites
Bulletin Boards
Description-This is a site where users can post information that they would like to share with others
Examples-www.myspace.com, www.xanga.com
Advantages:
Can be useful for community communications and may reach a huge audience
Disadvantages:
User names can be fictional and untraceable (except through negotiations with site owners)
Anonymity invites temptation to make improper choices. This school has first hand experience with otherwise kind and trustworthy students posting hateful material against classmates
A good breeding ground for hateful rumors
Pictures can be manipulated and posted
Can be used as a tool for revenge instead of constructively dealing with conflicts
Little if any moderation of site content
Podcasts
Description-Stored audio or video files available for download to computers or MP3 players
Examples: Providers include UNICEF, BBC, and Discovery Channel
Advantages:
Radio and TV networks allow some of their programs to be heard/viewed via a podcast; print media also make audio reports available, many for free. Download podcasts and enjoy them when you have time.
Disavantages:
Many podcasts are unfiltered and unmonitored and contain explicit content
They are easy to produce and place on the web and anyone can listen to them
Cracking/Hacking
Description-Getting into secured places that you are not supposed to access or that you should pay for
Examples: There are internet sites that tell give you crack codes so that you can download photo editing software that would cost you $700 USD to purchase legally
Advantages:
Since this is the cyber equivalent of shop lifting, I’m remiss to suggest advantages.
Disadvantages:
It is illegal, unethical and offenders can be fined or sent to jail; in
It is an unproductive use of time on the computer
There is a prestige that follows being a quality hacker. There is a temptation to do what should not be able to be done.
Illegal/Questionable File Sharing
Description: Downloading games or information from places or sites with no guarantee of file integrity
Examples: BitTorrent, Kazaa
Advantages:
Some sites do allow free download of files. Some music groups encourage sharing of their music
Disadvantages:
To quote the school’s tech director, “It is the computer equivalent of having unprotected sex with millions of people.”
File integrity is not guaranteed—files may be mislabeled and may hide malicious code (viruses, spyware)
File sharing leaves a door open to unauthorized access to the sharer’s computer, potentially compromising passwords, account numbers, etc.
Requires a huge bandwidth
It is mostly illegal
Wireless Internet Connection
Description- A service that allows users to connect to the internet from most places in the house
Examples-Like we have at school
Advantages:
It is more convenient than a fixed wire in a single location
Disadvantages:
Kids can more easily hide from their parents what they are viewing
This privacy may impair judgment
A child may not seek to access internet improperly, but is vulnerable to predatory users
Solutions:
There are devices such as net.nanny and cybersitter that can help filter what they can connect to but there are ways around these. These filters may block some innocent sites
There are some ghost programs that can be used to help you to view on another monitor what your child is viewing at the same moment
Some software can be purchased that allows only a parent password to access sites for the first time
All computers have content advisory settings. It is not perfect but it is better than nothing
Don’t be afraid to check your child’s history of internet sites visited and to look at what cookies are stored (though these can be erased if the child knows how)
Chat Rooms/Newsgroups
Description-This is a place where two or more people can correspond through a common screen where the text is seen by all who are logged into that room
Examples: Ventrillo (common to those who play Warcraft), Skype (has a phone/video component), Yahoo
Advantages:
“Free” communications, including voice and video
Inexpensive internet to land line connections
Some chat rooms are safe because users can control who is allowed to enter
Disadvantages:
Users may be predatory and profiles fictional
Most sites are not moderated or monitored
Many participants use improper language and the discussions are often at best mundane
Solution:
Always know who your kids are chatting with; stress to them the importance of not sharing personal information (age, location, etc.).
Moderated Chat Rooms:
TeenSpot.com - Teen Chat Rooms
| 3 Users - Clean, fun, moderated chat room for every type of teen. Cafe 2 Users - Sit back and have a cup of joe in the cafe! ... |
Yahooligans! - Arts and Entertainment:Chat
| Cool to be Real - contains moderated chat, games, polls, cards you can send to ... KidsCom Graffiti Wall - a monitored message board and chat room for kids. ... |
A Comprehensive List of Teen Chat Rooms on IRC and The Internet
| moderated chat rooms and message boards for clean chat and friendly fun. Fool Moon is a moderated, family-friendly place. Children under 13 must be ... |
| Our Main chat room. Usually 100+ users. This room is moderated. We have several Teen chat rooms to meet the needs of almost anyone looking for a good chat ... |
Instant Messaging Services
Description: This service works like a telephone except instead of talking you type your communications back and forth (sometimes include voice and video)
Examples: MSN, Yahoo, AIM, IRC, Trillion
Advantages:
Can be less intrusive than a telephone call, since the recipient can choose block all or select users
Improves typing speed
Can be a helpful way for students to clarify homework assignments or strategies for answering questions
Disadvantages:
For the reliable student, IMing can be a huge time burden as she becomes the go-to person for everyone else who doesn’t responsibly maintain a planner
People can potentially tell when you are connected and therefore can be a huge interruption
May be open to anyone, anywhere, and is often exploited by predatory users
These services run whenever the computer is running, whether the user is signed in or not, so that the IM providers can monitor usage for marketing purposes and to inform others of the user’s status. Can be an invasion of privacy, and is a waste of bandwidth.
Search Engines
Descriptions-Web sites that are intended to help you to find what you are looking for amongst the millions of sites on the internet
Examples: Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, Dogpile, Alta Vista
Advantages:
How would we ever navigate the internet without search engines?
Disadvantages:
Most search engines don’t filter content (a search for articles on breast cancer could potentially turn up all kinds of sites that parents would not approve)
Most sites generate income through advertising and some give preferential ranking to sponsored sites
Rankings are usually determined by number of hits to a site, not necessarily to relevance or integrity of information
Solution:
Especially for student research, use search engines that use a moderated database, such Newsbank, Proquest, accessable through Concordnet tech help or the HKIS site. Some of these are searchable by reading level and also include bibliography generators, which encourage students to cite their sources.
Streaming Television Broadcasts
Description: Live television streaming, including premium channels like HBO
Examples: AmericaFree.tv
Advantages:
Some sites let you watch programs you may miss at certain broadcast times, and others on demand
Disadvantages:
“Free”
Kids have access to a huge number of channels and content, much of which may be inappropriate
Requires a great deal of bandwidth
Solution:
Some production companies and networks offer streaming of their programs as part of their public broadcasting mission; for example, Frontline
IP Address Concealers
Description: These sites mask the user’s home IP address, allowing anonymous access to the internet
Example: www.anonymouse.org
Advantage:
Allows access to good information that may be blocked for political reasons
Disadvantages:
This type of anonymity has the potential for undermining all other content filters, both moral and technical
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