"Be net alert, not alarmed"

This reading made me think about how my up bringing has been impacted by the internet - It raised some interesting questions surrounding how knowledge about the Internet can challenge traditional perceptions of familial roles and relations.

Long’s reading “be net alert not alarmed” begins with comparing how parents regulate the internet, with John Howard’s anti-terrorism campaign entitled “lets look out for Australia” – as there exists an outside threat – predators – the need for an authority to regulate this threat – and external advice telling people how to ensure safety.

- This presents an interesting comparison however it seems like a large generalization as it does not take into account the individual parents and their varying treatment of the problems arising from the internet. Parents don’t necessarily rely on an authority to teach them how to deal.

- Long then went on to explain how… Fathers remain more likely than mothers to say that they know more about the internet than their children - although that status is disputed elsewhere by teen girls – who claim themselves and then their mothers are the most knowledgeable in relation to the internet and computers.

- Hence Long suggests that the majority of supervising parents on the internet – are mothers.

- She explains the idea that “asymmetry in knowledge about the computer leads to an unusual social situation in which the normal (familial) power relations are partially reserved”

Similar to the case with my own family:

- Teens display their knowledge and become educators themselves – assisting their mother but chastisising her ‘ I’ve told you this how many times?’

- Parents feel powerless because children know infinitely more about the net than they do

MONITORING MUMS:

Long’s interpretation of the Angle of monitoring mums: you will fail in your quest for good mothering of your teenage girl, unless you remain vigilant and seek assistance from external experts.

The belief in this reading is that the perception when it comes to mums and the Internet is that they are the guardians… and must do their best to protect the children.

However there are extremes in this representation – popular culture blames mothers for either not being protective enough or being over protective.

Not mentioned in this reading is the influence of other external sources on internet use amongst teenagers – the media being arguably the largest sex educator amongst teens – children who are not educated by their parents about things such as sex are now more likely to look to internet and media for information.

PARENTS VERSUS TEENAGERS

Feeling of powerlessness – teens know infinitely more about the internet reflecting a shift in approach to the traditional roles of parents and teenagers.

I agree with this statement to an extent, however it is clear from all other information in this reading that the traditional and societal perspective is that parents are still the authority, despite them being behind in technology – they still aim to have control over what their kids see and do on the internet, and it seems to be a problem in society if they do not.

This leads parents to seeking outside authority on protecting their kids – utilizing programs such as net nanny.

Whilst these programs may help, my view is that it should be more up to the parents to talk to their kids and work out restrictions between them – rather than seeking outside programs to solve their problems.

Never the less, there is clearly a problem here, with a UK survey from website Broadband Suppliers stating the following about Kid’s online behavior:

According to the survey reports, a whopping 62 per cent revealed that they lied to their parents about their online activities and more than 50 per cent erased their history on the web browser so that their parents could not make out what they had been up to online. Furthermore, while 55 per cent claimed that they had more knowledge on the internet than their parents, 47 per cent admitted to have been routinely spending two hours or more online, unsupervised.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Do you think these monitoring programs really work?

2. Is there a risk of maiming positive and creative aspects of teenage internet use?

3. In your family who do you think is the most educated about using the internet?

4. What are your thoughts on the expression “It’s not snooping – it’s responsible parenting”?