Why protection of children on the internet is so important.

Children surf for many different reasons. This can depend for example on their age; we can divide children into four different categories:
1. Children aged between two and three are already introduced to the computer.
2. When they reach the age of seven, they begin to enjoy the use of internet. By that age, they begin to use online encyclopedias; they download pictures or write to pen pals.
3. Than we have the young adolescents. They use the internet in a more sophisticated way, like reading journals online and consulting archives and libraries.
4. The older adolescents, use the internet in an even more practical manner, they search information about internships, job opportunities, learning different languages and so forth.
However, parents must be aware of the fact that children put information online that can harm them. They can put their identity online, for other people – sometimes with bad intentions – to see. This makes the internet a very unsafe place for children. So beware!

It can also be interesting to know where children surf.
Mostly they surf at home, in school or in public libraries. But it can also be interesting to take into account that they can surf at a friend’s house, in internet cafés, at museums, in after – school programs, in stores where there is a wifi connection or in public areas like train stations. So we can conclude that the protection of children is not always in the hands of the parents. This is why the sites themselves must be well protected.

Bregt Timmerman

Source: http://www.nap.edu/netsafekids/inter_kids.html#whykidssurf

The Spam King discrowned

A spammer called Sanford Wallace, also known as the Spam King, was condemned to paying Facebook 711 million dollars for hacking into members’ accounts and sending out fake wall posts and messages. Furthermore Wallace and accomplices were banned from the social network site for life. It wasn’t the first time the Spam King was found guilty on charges of sending junk messages. In 2008 MySpace also won a lawsuit against the notorious spammer. Facebook also announced that they will continue pursuing damages against other spammers. In November 2008, Facebook won another case against Atlantis Blue Capital, a business which sent Facebook users sexually explicit spam messages.

Robin

Sources:
http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=DMF20091030_054&word=facebook
http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/30/technology/facebook_spammer/index.htm
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/tech/D9BL656G0.htm

The Innocence of Children

Two weeks ago I read an article in the Belgian newspaper “De Standaard” which once again underlined the importance of protecting children on the internet. According to the article, a woman working in a nursery in Plymouth was arrested for distributing indecent images of children through the internet. The woman and two accomplices she met on Facebook have pleated guilty on the charges of child pornography and sexual abuse of children. This article reminded me that when we want to create an interactive website for kids, we have to bear in mind that children are a vulnerable target group that can easily be misled. Furthermore a recent study conducted on children’s internet use revealed that parents are concerned about the online activities of their kids. Some 53% of Belgian parents who were questioned, declared they are worried about their offspring giving out personal or private information online. Taking this into account, we must be aware that we need to protect kids online by securing children’s websites.

Robin

Sources:
http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/EUKidsOnline/EU%20Kids%20I/Conference%20Papers%20and%20abstracts/Victims%20and%20Perpetrators/Ponte.pdf

http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=DMF01102009_032&word=facebook

American companies block social network sites

A recent study by Robert Half Technology, concludes that the majority of the American employers, blocks the access to social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter. This research was conducted among 1400 chief information officers in companies with hundred employees or more.
54 percent of the companies that were examined, blocks these sites completely and 19 percent says these sites can be used, but only for ‘business purposes’. Only ten percent of the companies allows their employees to use these sites for personal use and sixteen percent thinks a limited amount of personal use is OK.
However, one must take into account, that there are differences in “blocking strategies”. For example, one can simply block all social network sites, but forbidding the employees to post messages about their boss or work was also considered as “blocking”
A second remark about this study, is that the use of social network sites during working hours, can lead to the loss of precious working time. So according to Dave Willmer (the CEO of Robert Half Technology), it is understandable that companies take action towards this rising phenomenon. However, it is also important to notice, that these sites can provide interesting business opportunities. This probably explains, why one out of five companies allows access towards these sites for business purposes.

Sources:
http://www.switched.com/2009/10/08/most-u-s-companies-blocking-facebook-and-twitter-finds-survey/
http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=20091007108661&word=sociale+netwerksites

Kidzui. The Internet for kids!

The number of children aged between 3 and 13 using the Internet is growing significantly everyday. The time spent online per child is also increasing. Unfortunately the Internet isn't exactly the safe place you let your children play in. Numerous initiatives have been undertaken to create a secure digital environment. With varyable success. Cliff Boro, Vidar Vignisson, Thomas Broadhead and Will von Reis have discovered a gap in the market that has turned them into millionaires.

Kidzui is a browser - like Internet Explorer or Firefox - designed especially for kids. Unlike most initiatives that have been undertaken to make the Internet a safer place, Kidzui doesn't filter the content. In cooperation with teachers and parents, the four founders have created two seals to label children-oriented websites. The Kidzui Site Seal makes websites visible in the browser. Websites who wish to support the mission and values of Kidzui get the Support Seal.

Kidzui has been positively reviewed in almost every American newspaper and has even made the evening news on CNN. Like its value, the number of users and the content published is growing expansively every day. The downside? There is only an English version...

Please visit the website!
Parents, talk to your children and download your browser here!

Christian Remon

Toddlers on the worldwide web

More and more young children are surfing the internet these days. According to Nielsen Online, the number of children aged 2-11 using the internet has increased by 18% since 2004. In May 2009, 16 million U.S. kids went online. They represent 9.5% of the active American Internet users. Furthermore, the time these children spend online has increased from nearly 7 hours in May 2004, to more than 11 hours in May 2009. This is an increase of 63% in the last 5 years, which surpasses the growth in time spent online by the overall population by 27%.

It is difficult to find online data on the number of young children going online in Europe. However, a study of the European Commission shows that 73% of the people aged 16-24, use the internet on a daily base. These youngsters are the largest group of internet users in Europe. One might therefore expect that a large number of young European children surf the internet as well.

The numbers mentioned above indicate a large and growing number of toddlers that are surfing the worldwide web. They make up an interesting market segment with special “online needs”. For example, a lot of young children might have difficulties reading, typing, searching, etc. It is up to marketers to study these needs and help designers to create online environments that meet the wishes of these toddlers.

Sources:

http://en-us.nielsen.com/main/news/news_releases/2009/july/Nielsen_Online_Data_Quick_Take__Kids_Online

http://blog.combell.com/2009/09/27/children-are-more-and-more-online/

http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1249411622.22