Tech Whiz Kids

I gotta say kids these days are amazing.

While I'm still trying my best to fathom the intricacies of wi-fi, I see relative rugrats punching PS3s, cracking up their iPods and clogging up twitter with their reasonably mundane daily routines. With the unstoppable advent of technology - and the seemingly ubiquitous internet, kids these days are getting far more exposure to the rest of the world than ever I did as a child growing up.

Of course along with the best the world has to give, the kids these days have to contend with the bad as well - all the predatory dangers that come along in the Pandora's box. Monsters don't sneak out from under the bed these days, so much easier to slide along the dark, dank passageways of the shadowy net onto the computer screen. Anxious parents would like nothing more than to lock up their tech-whiz children - along with the computers as a prevention.

Sadly, to many parents, there's only one option-a simple one: Keep their children off the Internet entirely.


Ooh whatchu looking at!
Prevention.

Despite the fact that I'm a practicing doctor, prevention isn't a word I am a particular fan of. A form of censorship that covers all ills. Prevent rape. Cover up the women. Prevent smoking. Ban cigarettes. Prevent drinking. Ban alcohol.

Like that ever stopped anyone. Prohibition without education never works.

And seriously there shouldn't be talk of prevention when the disease has already stricken more than half the population. With the cyberspace only a simple click away even in the most remote places, exactly how are you going to prevent your child from falling prey to the internet ills?

Sister-in-law : OMG Chatty Carmen is online on facebook!
Paul : She is? My niece is a prodigy! Can I be her friend?
Sister-in-law : No way! I am stopping this. I don't know how she got online! I must stop it.
Paul : By locking up the computer each time she comes near? How about the computers in school? How about the cybercafes?

Filtering? Blocking? Parental controls?

Oh please. Don't you know that's like waving a red flag in front of a rebellious child? I can tell you that since I was one of the kids who'd enjoy breaking a rule just to prove a point.

I'm more a fan of education. Even parental controls need some semblance of instruction. Children these days need to be internet literate. Rather than imprison the child in a tower keep ( and then throwing away the key ), I'd give them the tools to combat any online predators that come their way. Isn't that a better solution?