Children on the Internet

[Pinkiebow 48]

I started using the internet when I was 8. I only played (rated E) flash games on Newgrounds and Club Penguin though. I never was the kind of kid who would go online to annoy everyone (my parents never would let me talk to strangers, by the way). I'm 14 as of now.

Just sharing my personal experience as a child.

[Lady Diana 412]

Though I've seen someone here who was 11 or 12

[Chronamut 355]

I was just thinking I wonder how many kids will comment in this thread lol..

 

BEGONE, TOTS!

[ponylaces 1,870]

To be fair, I've seen kids under 13 on the internet who are surprisingly mature for their age. Not all young kids on the internet are annoying, but yeah, watch out for the majority.

 

I didn't start using the internet until I was 9/10, but I only played on websites like Club Penguin. That's fine. But some sites like YouTube don't allow kids under 13 to join, yet the kids still join anyway and cause trouble in comments. Some parents should seriously pay attention to their kids more.

[Randimaxis 8,654]

There is NO excuse for bad/inattentive parenting.

 

If you let the Internet raise your child without your supervision, they'll be just as full of crap as the 'net can be.

 

The lesson?  Take the time to net-surf WITH your kids, help them LEARN what isn't appropriate, and TALK to them when they have questions.  Simple as that.

 

I have two children, and they don't get much Internet time... but when they do, we are right there with them.  Yeah, I might miss out on the latest episode of BLAH, or I won't get time to play my BLAH, etc. ... but my kids will benefit from the time I share with them, and it can help make the Internet the tool people want it to be; not the porn-and-violence hub it's seen as.

[Sekr Gray 520]

Hayseeds, I wrote a thread and actually got replies. This feels weird

 

http://help.deviantart.com/696/

You don't have to 'put up with it'. Report the outlier. On MLPF we have a similar policy. No members under the age of 13. As Lucky Shot said ... COPPA.

I reported him, and it looks like some five other people did. He's gonna be gone for a while I imagine.

 

Alright so, this is going to sound bad...

My mom has been teaching at an elementary school since I was 6 years old.  I'm 21 now, so she's had a lot of different children come through over the years.

There is a large difference in the behavior of children now as compared to 15 years ago.  Now I know everyone is thinking "Baby boomers probably thought the change from Gen X to Gen Y was bad; that Gen Y kids were bad..."

Well, sorry to say, that isn't comparable to children born past 2000.  My mom is a Baby Boomer.  She's 61 right now.  She's seen the generation changes throughout her life.  The behavior of children born in the Gen X and Gen Y aren't really all that different.  But Millennials (Gen Z kids) are different.

What exactly is the difference?  Lack of understanding how to change one's etiquette from one scenario to another.  When I was an elementary school kid, I knew how to act differently at school than at home; than at church; than at sports events; than on the internet.  I inherently knew what etiquette I needed to use before I even knew what the word "etiquette" was.  

Kids these days are seeming to lack that kind of behavioral ability, and when added onto the fact that more children are currently being raised in single parent homes, or worse, than in previous decades... Handling a class full of elementary school kids can become ridiculous.

Now, I'm sure I have some self bias.  So I'll admit that.  Despite the fact I was born in 94, thus technically making me a Gen Y, I was raised by much older parents, of whom came from quite strict, traditional country backgrounds.  I may have been ornery and hyper sometimes, but I'd get a nice smack on the mouth for saying something nasty, or a nice smack on the butt for doing something nasty, so I learned quickly how to behave well.  

In this day and age, kids lack the kind of active involvement in being taught how to act in different places because they're just given an iphone or something to play with.  I know I'm only 21, but I know that's horrible parenting.  

I'm not saying kids need to be smacked anymore, that kind of thing is too old fashioned for the "politically correct" world we live in today.  But what I'm saying is children are being allowed way too much leeway without being given any guidelines.  

Maybe if parents would tell kids "treat people online as you would want to be treated in real life."  I don't know, but... it could help.

~ Miles

Born '96 myself, but I can see this happening too. I never went to church, or anywhere that was highly formal on a regular basis, yet I still knew what was expected of me. In high school, I saw my own grade level being able to take on roles and different levels of professionalism without much explanation. Yet when I became an officer of a club that employed all four grade levels, I started noticing that the freshman class would get even worse every year. Coincidentally, whoever made the biggest fuss also had the best devices and most uninvolved parents. I had to spend a whole month on lessons on just etiquette before the real club work could begin, and even then there would be an issue at least once a week. I couldn't do anything being just another student at the school and not administration, but it's lent to most of the senior club members hatred of electronics being the sole interaction a child will have today I'd imagine.

[taryncoda03 52]

I do think that parents need to be more cautious or block certain websites from their children that are immature.  Some children are more mature and responsible than others but it is ultimately up to the parent what they do about their child's internet use.  I didn't actually start actively using the internet (other than school projects) until a website called facethejury.com became kind of a thing.  It was before Myspace but was very much like a Myspace.  So that had to have been when I was about 14 or 15 years old.  My mom didn't really monitor my computer use except for limiting my time on there so my sister could have a turn.  

If I had a child they wouldn't be able to use the internet except for school projects until they were 13 years old.  Sure, I would let them play games and such but there is just so much out there anymore to protect children from.  This world is turning chaotic and we have to look at our youth because they are the future.  If we can help to make the world a better place for them and help them grow up in a stable environment without a bunch of violence and sexual objects sitting in front of their faces then we may stand a chance.  It's hard but parents do have the power to block certain websites.  

So there's my little rant on the subject...

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

I've seen some young kids that have cellphones and computers, which I find ridiculous.

Edited November 12, 2015 by MLPFanatic34

[ARagY 1,152]

There's nothing you can do on the Internet. There have been many attempts but come on, did YOU ever ask your parents for permission to access sites? Or were you one of those rebels that did it as you pleased? There's no working way currently to fix this and retain your privacy and freedom. Don't get me wrong, that's annoying as hell and I agree with you children like that shouldn't be allowed on here. But what can you do about it? Nothing, really. They're far too immature to be reasoned with, and their parents clearly are unaware or let it happen as a babysitter, same with the plague of the gaming world, specifically FPS like CS GO or CoD. 

 

I'd say the barrier with video games is those that demand high graphical settings. Something you have to invest in and something only an adult or teenager who's alright might be on. I've hardly ever run across someone under 16 on Battlefield on PC. Every other CS GO game and EVERY TF2 game is loaded with children, who usually spout some cocky nonsense that makes you wish you you could go back to before they were born and give their dad the good one-two. But you can't, and this is only for gaming. 

 

For regular things like deviantart you just have to be watchful I guess. Even if sites do have age filters, they're easy to get past, and if its too much work to sign up then the adults won't do it either. No one, and I mean no one, will expect a large influx of people when you have to send your ID to the HQ to activate your account. That won't happen.

[Rawzy 1,302]

No offense but um.....dude.....you kind of acted like the child in this instance for arguing to a little kid over nothing FOR A WHOLE WEEK!?!

 

And top it off...HE was the one who blocked you, instead of you being the bigger man and blocking him.

 

To me, the reason you posted this topic was because you are trying to vent on the forums because you can't directly say something back to him since he blocked you. That's what it looks like.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Anyway..................I definitely think we should allow kids on the internet, 100%, just keep them blocked from certain sites, and even if they get access to these types of sites (like deviantART) we just block them from talking to us.....

 

Growing up on the internet has definitely made me mature, and has made me better at reading, since I don't read books...

 

but has also made me a nerd.......and I'm proud xD

I've seen some young kids that have cellphones and computers, which I find ridiculous.

Yea I mean....back when I was a kid we didn't have all those touch screen contraptions, we had PlayStation 2, and whenever I wanted to use the internet I had to use my parent's computer and they had to watch me while I was on it. We also had the outdoors which I think was a pretty nifty invention

[Invincible 2,091]

First, i don't think it's fair you're pointing out the kid's lacking English, unless you're trying to emphasize the fact that this is indeed a kid. I saw adults with English just as bad. Now I'm sure someone already pointed it out but i think that most sites have an age policy. You can always use that to you advantage, you know.

 

I kind of get what you're saying though, the difference in ages makes it harder to communicate with these people and i too would rather spend time with people closer to my age. 

 

...Then again when i was a 12 year old on the internet i was a childish little brat.

[Carl Poppa 464]

If kids were blocked from sites, they'd just lie about their age and access them anyway. There's no point in totally forbidding/censoring them.

[superdogz1999 551]

Alright so, this is going to sound bad...

My mom has been teaching at an elementary school since I was 6 years old.  I'm 21 now, so she's had a lot of different children come through over the years.

There is a large difference in the behavior of children now as compared to 15 years ago.  Now I know everyone is thinking "Baby boomers probably thought the change from Gen X to Gen Y was bad; that Gen Y kids were bad..."

Well, sorry to say, that isn't comparable to children born past 2000.  My mom is a Baby Boomer.  She's 61 right now.  She's seen the generation changes throughout her life.  The behavior of children born in the Gen X and Gen Y aren't really all that different.  But Millennials (Gen Z kids) are different.

What exactly is the difference?  Lack of understanding how to change one's etiquette from one scenario to another.  When I was an elementary school kid, I knew how to act differently at school than at home; than at church; than at sports events; than on the internet.  I inherently knew what etiquette I needed to use before I even knew what the word "etiquette" was.  

Kids these days are seeming to lack that kind of behavioral ability, and when added onto the fact that more children are currently being raised in single parent homes, or worse, than in previous decades... Handling a class full of elementary school kids can become ridiculous.

Now, I'm sure I have some self bias.  So I'll admit that.  Despite the fact I was born in 94, thus technically making me a Gen Y, I was raised by much older parents, of whom came from quite strict, traditional country backgrounds.  I may have been ornery and hyper sometimes, but I'd get a nice smack on the mouth for saying something nasty, or a nice smack on the butt for doing something nasty, so I learned quickly how to behave well.  

In this day and age, kids lack the kind of active involvement in being taught how to act in different places because they're just given an iphone or something to play with.  I know I'm only 21, but I know that's horrible parenting.  

I'm not saying kids need to be smacked anymore, that kind of thing is too old fashioned for the "politically correct" world we live in today.  But what I'm saying is children are being allowed way too much leeway without being given any guidelines.  

Maybe if parents would tell kids "treat people online as you would want to be treated in real life."  I don't know, but... it could help.

~ Miles

Really good explaination, its all about change in life and I am pretty sure that little boy will change and mature just like how I did over the years. The Internet is about maturity and if you are ready to go into a chatroom, you must be mature enough. I have seen 8 or 9 year olds on Facebook and even some of them are mature.

[Rainboom Dash 1,056]

I don't think I took much interest in internet until I was 10. My interest got more hardcore at 13.

[frecklesareblooming 225]

I was a little asshole when I first began using the Internet. Honestly, I wish I could apologize to the people I insulted and hide under a rock because I did and said some very embarassing things. My point is, there will always be immature kids on the Internet. Let's just hope they mature and realize that just because they're behind a keyboard, it's not an excuse to have a terrible attitude.

[EpicEnergy 23,222]

Kids nowadays are almost dependent on things like the internet, to take it away from every child could cause an spike in depression among children. Not only that, but to take it away would be restricting their freedom of speech since they wouldn't be able to access social media and let their voices be heard. Additionally, parents rely on the internet to occupy their kids while they are doing important things so taking it away from kids would upset many parents. And finally, someone in authority has to take away the internet from kids, and guess who that is - the government. I'm strongly against giving the government even more power than it already has, giving them power to control who gets to go on the internet and who doesn't is dangerous.

And if they drawbacks of such an action isn't convincing enough, then look at it this way - what harm are kids really causing on the internet, and how does that differ from the harm adults cause on the internet? The point is, not all kids are causing harm. And if the harm that some of them do cause is enough to ban them from the internet, what about adults? They are capable of causing much more harm than kids, should we ban them from the internet too? The point is, the logic behind taking away the internet from children is unreasonable.

"But the internet causes problems in children!" well that's the individual parents' responsibility, not the government's or your's.

[DixonTheAdversary 1,632]

When I was younger, I only stuck to games online (such as Club Penguin and Roblox) and watching Youtube. That was all I did online when I was 10 or so.

[Envy 6,176]

Throughout a lot of my childhood the internet was something that was there but that I wasn't allowed to use. I don't remember when I was first allowed. It must have been somewhere from the late 90s to 2000 (I know I was online by 2000, because I saw the Pokemon from G/S online before their release in the US). So probably somewhere between when I was 8-10. I don't know. Still sounds pretty young. However, I wasn't allowed to join a forum until I was 14. lol

So yeah, having kids joining forums that are younger than that is weird to me. But the internet was a different thing back when I was a child. It was dial-up and not quite as mainstream.

[ProfVenturer 94]

My grandmother and I had a discussion about this last night. She said that if I'm not careful on this website, I could catch the attention of a parent whose kid is also on this site. So I'm trying to keep my account as clean as possible.