Phones traps for young players

With mobile phone use and text messaging at an all-time high, the children of "Generation X" parents can be called "Generation Text".

But many parents know less about the technology than their children and so are unaware of the risks it poses.

"When you hear about so many young children now getting access [to mobile phones] we've all got to be more aggressive in protecting the little ones," says Internet Safety Group (NetSafe) director Liz Butterfield.

There are risks and benefits with mobile phones. On the positive side they are an effective safety device, offering children a way to contact parents quickly, she says.

"But ... many parents are not aware of what else the phones can link kids to, for instance, text chatrooms, where you don't need internet access on a phone to be able to get to."

Other safety issues are raised by the features on some phones, such as digital cameras.

"A lot of children are unaware of having their photo taken, and then [the photo] can be easily misused," Ms Butterfield says.

It can be posted on a bullying website or distributed to classmates in a harassing way - bearing a message such as "Isn't she ugly?"

Bullying and harassment is a big concern and can take a number of forms, including inappropriate distribution of phone numbers.

"Even if the messages are what you might think on the surface are fairly mild, if you get one saying, 'You're really ugly' 100 times a day it can be as devastating as if somebody threatened your life."

Most bullying is done by peers, with the anonymity afforded by mobile phones prompting children to engage in bullying behaviour when they would not do it face to face, she says.

Traditional "stranger danger" messages fall on deaf ears because through these technologies children quickly see strangers as "trusted friends", she says.

The Telecommunications Carriers' Forum - of which Telecom and Vodafone are members - said last month it would develop a code of practice on the inappropriate use of mobile technologies.

And an anti text-bullying campaign launched by NetSafe and Vodafone has been running successfully.

* For more information see www.netsafe.org.nz, contact your mobile phone provider or talk to your child's school.

- NZPA