Today's children are a key part of the global information society. Teaching them skills to critically evaluate online information is vital for their safety.
Most readers accept that ensuring the internet is always a positive experience for children is a tough task.
However, many feel that parents should maintain a stringent control of web access for youngsters, especially when it comes to chat rooms and interacting with cyber friends. We present a debate on the issue.
Internet gives children access to knowledge that would otherwise be unavailable to them
Yes, that's right because it is really difficult to get hold of all the information you need in books. The internet is an easy way to access information. However, I do not think everything on the internet should be easy to log on to.
Abeda Parpia
Dubai
Yes, but not everything should be easily accessible, especially for children. I know the UAE blocks certain websites and information, but I think that's still not enough. The internet is not always a safe place. I think there should be more supervision and maybe a further blockage of certain websites.
Mehreen Diwala
Abu Dhabi
My children are all grown up, so I do not have much experience with this. But yes, I think so. Children these days know their way around the computer and the internet. There is a general worry that children spend a lot of time on the internet. It has become very addictive.
Pauline Mullane
Dubai
Absolutely. The internet provides an entrance to the world and broadens children's vision. It enhances their reading, writing and comprehension skills and introduces them to global developments. Some websites though should be filtered.
Dr Hassan Khabbazeh
Dubai
Chat rooms expose young people to probable criminals
I do not think so. People log on to these rooms with fake names and identities. You can never know whom you are talking to. I don't think it's harmful. Yes, sometimes people meet online and decide to meet in person and that means exposure to criminals, but this does not always happen.
Emrana Khan
Dubai
I think these chat rooms are dangerous places, because you don't know whom you are chatting with. You don't know the person's identity and that can lead to trouble. I don't think logging into chat rooms is a good idea.
Sehrish Ansari
Dubai
The scope of the internet is widening and I think it is becoming difficult for parents to monitor what their children are doing. Definitely things can go wrong on the internet with children accessing chat rooms. Children do not have the good judgement to decide what is safe and what's not. They can be dragged into doing things. However, the internet is inevitable and you cannot avoid it. It has become part of our lives.
Emad Ramadan
Dubai
Even though chat rooms have their downside, I think they also have certain advantages. Children improve their communication skills, get exposed to other cultures and widen their
horizons.
Ali Al Alaimi
Dubai
You can never truly protect children from online pornography
Yes that's true. In Dubai, the telecommunication company does block certain sites. This can help, but not all the time. There are still other websites that children can access. I think it is up to the parents to monitor their children.
Adnan Farid
Dubai
I think so because of globalisation and easy information access, children can access anything and you cannot always protect them. In the UAE they block certain internet sites, but there are still others that are easy to access. Also, I don't think parents are always shadowing their children to see what they are doing on the internet.
Madonna Farho
Sharjah
You cannot protect children totally, but I think it is the responsibility of the parents to teach the children to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong. Yes etisalat blocks certain sites on the internet but that does not always help.
Khalid Bin Rashid Bin Bishr
Dubai
Protecting the children all the time is impossible. There are students in high school who can beat etisalat's screening system and log on to any website they want. The telecommunication company does what it can, but parents are the ones who should watch their children.
Khalifa Al Shamsi
Dubai
Control of internet access should rest with parents, not the telecommunication providers
I think so, but this does not happen. The telecommunication company can do the basic work of blocking certain sites, but at the end it is the parents' responsibility to monitor their children. However, these days it is really hard to do that. The parents can't concentrate on everything their children are doing.
Sara Saedi
Sharjah
It is the parents' responsibility, because it is the parents who decide how they want to raise their children and if something goes wrong they cannot blame the telecommunication company. They should be monitoring their children's access to the internet, because it is not safe, not until they are older.
Jason Peter
Dubai
It is the parents' job to control what children could access online. But the problem is that there are parents who do not even know how to use the computer. Children should be monitored constantly. One way to do it is to put the computer in a place where everyone can see what the children are doing, to keep an eye on the information they access.
Majid Matar
Dubai
Yes. There are some parents who actually monitor their children when they go online. I know a few who do that. Some parents don't, but generally parents care about what their children are getting exposed to on the internet.
Thafar Fadel
Sharjah
