NEWS: Have safety net for young websurfers

KUALA LUMPUR: The Internet can help expand young minds but some parents and teachers are worried that too much of it can lead to negative consequences.

Several parents and teachers at a recent CyberSecurity Malaysia conference on online safety expressed concerns that youngsters may get addicted to the Web unless its usage is controlled.

Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim, president of the Parents Action Group for Education (Page), said Internet addiction can affect a child’s social development and the honing of his or her interpersonal skills.

She said children who spend excessive amounts of time on the Web are not free to build friendships in the normal way and so “they lack interpersonal communication skills.”

The parents of these children, she said, usually find it difficult to deal with the problem or may not even realise that there is something wrong.

And even more worrying, Noor Azimah said, a study shows that about 24% of youngsters using the Internet give out too much personal information — in the form of very descriptive text and detailed photos of themselves — which is accessible to anyone on the Web.

A number of teachers who attended the conference were concerned about cyberbullying, where youngsters use the Internet (and cellphones) to intimidate their peers.

Citing a study done in Britain, Lok Yim Pheng, secretary-general of the National Union of the Teaching Profession, said 43% of the teens surveyed were victims of cyberbullies.

“There are no numbers for the situation in this country but it’s best to act anyway,” she said. Victims of cyberbullying can suffer problems with self confidence and personal development.

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Lok said teachers are also worried about how online communication and texting among students is affecting their language and writing skills.

She said some students are using abbreviations to the point where they do not bother to learn how to spell entire words, which leads to broken English and Bahasa Malaysia when they speak and write.

“Our youngsters are also coming to regard their computer as their best friend (instead of making friends with their classmates or schoolmates),” she added.

The parents and teachers suggested ways to prevent Internet addiction among children. They believe the best way is to limit the amount of time youngsters spend on the Web.

“I would recommend that a child spend only two hours each day on the Internet and be rewarded with a bit more Internet time on weekends for good behaviour,” Lok said.

Students’ Internet use in school computer labs should also be monitored and the schools should have programmes teaching the children how to use the Internet safely.

“Teachers must also create an avenue for students to debate and discuss the merits of the information they find on the Internet because not all the data on the Web is reliable,” Lok said.