When using internet, email and chat based tools, there are 3 mains areas of potential risk:
Content, Contact and Commerce. As more and more people look to exploit technology to support the work they are undertaking, the more creative they will be in how they will use the technologies available to them. So what are we talking about:
• Content - The internet is, on the whole, un-policed. As long as it doesn’t break the laws that apply to other media e.g. pornography and fraud, material can be submitted to the internet. The material available at any one time is enormous and is updated not daily but by the minute. However, due to this constant change and, with no one having full responsibility for monitoring what goes up, it is very easy for inappropriate material to be added and for pupils to come across such material. In some cases, this material appears very plausible and children (and many adults) believe that it is true and do not question its validity.
• Contact - This is probably the greatest area of risk. Many of us have read or seen articles about how criminals have made use of internet and phone technology to establish links with young children and develop relationships to persuade them to become involved in criminal or sexual activity. This is often known as ‘grooming’ or ‘online enticement’. This is often at its most effective as these people are able to hide behind the anonymity that the technologies offer and that makes them appealing to young people as it allows them to be a different person. The other aspect of this is on line bullying. Through the use of tools such as mobile phones and instant messaging, children can be subject to being bullied at any time of the day or night, with the bully hiding behind the technology.
• Commerce - The use of the internet for commercial purposes is one of the world’s largest growth areas. With more and more available through on line shops and auction sites, the risk has increased that children could do something that may have legal, commercial or financial implications. Research has shown that many children cannot effectively tell what is advertising and what is not and often drawn into actions that have significant implications or breach security such as giving away PIN numbers and bank details. The other side of this is the increase in plagiarism and copyright theft through the use of peer to peer services, direct copying of material without acknowledgement or the buying and selling of material through internet sites.