PEARL 25

The Internet

Parents are concerned about the Internet, which, like an apple barrel, is

filled with endless worms and rotten apples. At the time of this writing,
one-third of all websites contain explicit sexual content. To block that
content, parents sometimes use electronic filters. Unfortunately, it is
difficult for any filter to adequately screen the thousands of chat rooms
that spring up like mushrooms. Pedophiles, identity thieves, and other
miscreants are able to troll through chat rooms to strike up conversations
with unsuspecting children and encourage them to provide addresses,
telephone numbers, and other personal information. By checking the box
that affirms that the user is eighteen or over, anyone can access a chat
room and sexually explicit material.
It has been estimated that one in five children are solicited online for
sex. According to a recent survey, one in five U.S. teenagers who
regularly log on to the Internet say they have received unwanted sexual
solicitation via the Web.^10 Solicitations were defined as requests to
engage in sexual activities or sexual talk or to give personal sexual
information.
Love and Logic parents wisely filter their home computers; however,
Love and Logic parents wisely don’t rely on the filters alone to prevent
self-destructive viewing of sexually explicit Internet sites or chats. There
are problems with relying on filters:

•           Filters have    a   hard    time    catching    every   site.

•           Computer-savvy  teens   may have    no  problem circumventing

filters.