Editorial: Danger lurks on the web

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My parents were vigilant in monitoring what I was up to online - often much to my horror
For many parents these days, the issue of kids and technology is a constant balance.
But one thing seems to be certain - it's an issue parents are having to deal with increasingly earlier.

Just last week, primary school principals spoke out about the need for parents to supervise their child's internet access with news that more and more kids, even at primary school age, are using social media.

By doing so they're opening themselves up to all manner of problems.

I remember when as a teen I was first introduced to the world of the internet.

At 15 or 16 I was still probably not mature enough to be dealing with the carry-on in chat rooms - the closest thing we had to social media.

Thankfully my parents were vigilant in monitoring what I was up to online - often much to my horror.

Rebecca Malcolm

In retrospect, it definitely saved me from some potentially dangerous situations.

But it was so much easier in those days.

We didn't have laptops, much less phones that could access the internet.

The only access was by plugging in the cord to the internet and connecting via the family computer in the living room.

When my parents decided I had spent enought time on the computer, the cord was removed.

These days it's not so easy.

As a parent it's tempting to think that these issues aren't ones we have to deal with until the teenage years, but the sad fact is that with a 7-year-old, it's likely to be something I have to face sooner rather than later.

While it would certainly be easier to bury my head in the sand, I think Netsafe's Martin Cocker makes a good point when he says that ultimately it is safer a child uses a site underage but carefully monitored than for a parent to disallow its use and the child to use anyway.