Computer: social bridge or virtual abuse?

Original Article

Vol. 3 nº 3 - Jul/Sep - 2006
Pages:57-
60

Computer: social bridge or virtual abuse?

Authors:

New millennium, new technologies, new generations of children and teenagers and more challenges for everyone. Little by little, each home and each family has in their possession, in addition to the telephone, which is now a cell phone, and which, in addition to being a source of conversation, is also a camera, notepad, etc., and the television, which was or continues to be the villain and the electronic babysitter, a new member to share the family’s attention: the computer! At first, everyone wants to use the keys and see the images that appear with the power of the button and the mouse, that is, the mouse , since now even English words are part of everyday life: delete, attach, download, upgrade , etc. have entered everyone’s vocabulary. Apart from the slang that has changed, ok, kisses to you! Teenagers are creative and, at the height of changes, they are the first to accept the challenge of controlling the machine and, in a short time, they have already mastered all the tricks. Today, teenagers help their parents in a role reversal, since in the past only parents helped their children with their homework and with passing the terrible math test. Teenagers accept technological innovations at a faster pace than their parents. Almost all schools now have access to computers, with new educational methodologies. Almost all, because exclusion in globalized times has increasingly become digital! Some have daily access to computers at home, while others still need to go to cyber-cafes or internet cafes to play online ! And everyone is now an internet user , a new multinational population without a country, using only a password as a passport! Why are computers so successful? Because of the speed of information, free access to distant places in the world and because they make people’s lives easier on a silent or even musical screen, but without the obstacles of everyday life, in short, expanding knowledge and awareness. And all teenagers create their photologs and blogs and chat , forming a new social network, but still being isolated, each one in their own virtual world, or is it the real world that has lost its limits? Meeting so many unknown friends online and chatting for hours on end about everything or nothing is so curious that it has become a question of fame , revealing what you want, disguising what you don’t want and inventing even more! The inability to discern the truth from what is found in cyberspace and distinguish between what is true and false/lie, or real and virtual is the big problem. Teenagers are looking for new challenges, with open minds and full of imagination, and the information posted on the blog orchat room may not be related to the truth of the facts. Between fighting over the remote control of the television channel that was in the living room and on during family dinner or going to the bedroom and staying in your own world, talking directly to the gang, or being a hacker at global hyperspeed, it has been an easy and direct choice for many Brazilian teenagers. Consumption is the current currency and everyone wants to be online, linking and accessing all the portals, following all the news and downloading everything, including music, movies, and that research that the teacher requested instead of the terrible headache of homework ! Teenagers are using the internet more and more and often have the computer in their bedroom as their most faithful friend. But they are no longer alone while their parents work or are busy with their daily tasks and have no time for dialogue or to connect , much less to talk frankly and directly about sexuality and the reasons for so many changes characteristic of this era. If teenagers could talk more with their parents about topics that are still considered secret , perhaps there wouldn’t be so much room for pornography and the objectification of sex as a mere consumer product. And that’s why the internet has also been used by criminals, abusers and pedophiles. And teenagers have been a new and easy target, because they like to tell the computer what they didn’t verbalize before, the secrets and intimacies that are difficult to talk about, to discuss, to share even with their friends . And they expose themselves and reveal themselves in exchange for a chat or chat with people who think they are invisible friends , and this new routine goes on for hours and days on end. Soon, new habits and new behaviors emerge, replacing the family’s Sunday lunch. Playing ball in the backyard is transposed to a digital screen and a virtual ball, in the video game , instead of the vitamins and essential nutrients that have fallen from the emotional connection, that is, from the link ! The friendly computer is now becoming the new enemy , uncontrollable even under Brazilian law. Through a wonderful and attractive machine , the teenager is being used as a victim, being exploited and sensitized to pornography networks, exposed to sexual materials and online encounters . Most of the time, this encounter begins on the network or in chat rooms., usually through instant messaging (MSN) or group e-mails , to which adolescents are attracted, out of curiosity, and often to challenge their parents’ prudish values. In a study conducted in the United States in 2003, online victimization involved adolescents between the ages of 13 and 15, 25% of whom were boys. The alleged motives were love and romance , or eternal friendship , or conversations about cyber-sex , and few cases involved coercion or violence; on the contrary, there was, in most cases, an entire initiation that involved seduction and dependence. After arranging virtual or real meetings , the abusers then practice all types of sexual activities with their victims , in addition to initiating exposure to pornography or photographs in sexual poses . Most of these criminals choose as victims children or adolescents at the beginning of puberty for their photo and pornography sites . Dolls, images of superheroes, real photos or images of children and adolescents created digitally and virtually on erotic, obscene websites or on the international pornography network are also currently used. More than a thousand pornography websites are created every month in Brazil, which is becoming a leading producer on the international network. Many cases also involve drug use, trafficking of children and adolescents for commercial and sexual exploitation purposes, in addition to pedophilia. Most crimes occur after a relationship of dependency has been created between the abuser and the victim. The adolescent becomes hostage to his or her image, which is now being transmitted via the internet and will never be recovered, causing constant sexual revictimization. Or the images are used as trophies or souvenirs in memories of vacation trips, in cases of sex tourism. The internet, seen as anonymousand as a secure virtual context for the dissemination of public information and a vehicle for instant communication, often for legitimate use, among people from various groups, it has become a threat. Anonymity is a double-edged sword, because just as it can be used to open a discussion or debate on an important topic, it can also hide illegal or criminal motives, with ulterior motives. Children and adolescents are naturally curious, and they do not have information available about the dangers of the Internet. Much less can they believe or guess who hides behind pseudonyms or passwords. Many post personal information such as addresses, telephone numbers, family details, as well as photos and opinions. Most receive messages from people they do not know, and information theft is a constant threat. Children and adolescents do not check the legitimacy of the website before posting personal or family details. Much of the content on the Internet is not appropriate for children and adolescents, but these limits are difficult to establish within the family. Examples include scenes of nudity or explicit sex, violent or racist websites , satanic cult groups, the sale of drugs and medicines, including those used by teenagers, such as anabolic steroids or appetite suppressants, and even recipes for making homemade bombs or trafficking weapons. There are also sex tourism and commercial sexual exploitation networks, disguised as modeling agencies or artistic photo agencies. Including virtual threats, spam messages and virtual attacks by teenage or professional hackers . Abusers who use the Internet try to validate their beliefs and behaviors. When they find people or teenagers who agree with their values, they reinforce their reasons and motives, rationalizing and legitimizing what they are doing, as if there were nothing wrong or perverse, simply immediate gratification. They often pretend to be teenagers or very friendly , seducing people with the advantages of their wonderful and not prudish world . Abusers connect internationally via the Internet and also hide behind the anonymity of the virtual network, claiming freedom of expression and taking advantage of flaws in legislation and oversight in several countries, including Brazil. The Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) has been working in some Brazilian states to create cybercrime police stations, but there are still no educational programs on the use of the Internet for schools, children and adolescents or the general public. So what are the rules to be established in the family? How can we use this technology in a healthy way to strengthen the self-esteem of teenagers and improve their knowledge, building a true social bridge between cultural diversities? The computer cannot become the substitute babysitter for the television or the new bogeyman ! The dialogue with parents who are responsible and transmit responsibility to their children always begins as an exercise at home, where the rights to protection, security and trust are expressed by establishing rules and limits for this healthy coexistence in the virtual world.

Which websites are most visited?

Talk to your child or student about the websites that are appropriate for their development and maturity. Select the ones that are legitimate. Talk about the risks and dangers of the Internet, such as how you should not cross a street in the middle of speeding cars.

Who and how do you communicate with?

Clear rules and limits for public and common coexistence in chat rooms , instant messaging and webcam use , without providing important personal or family data to unknown people, nor establishing bonds of dependency or leaving secretly or alone to unknown places after virtual invitations .

How long do you stay online ?

Encourage children and adolescents to have their own lives and other interests in sports, culture, and outdoor leisure, in addition to the computer, and establish schedules for use (no more than 1-2 hours a day, without exaggerations such as: “spends the whole afternoon on the computer” or “doesn’t sleep anymore because he stays on the computer until dawn”), etc. The computer stops being an external piece and becomes an extension of the body, causing postural problems, etc. Hours of sleep, rest or relaxation, and exercise are also important during this phase of body and brain growth. Also remember that you, as an adult and through daily coexistence, become a role model for your child or student, so limit your work time on the computer as well and practice mothering/fathering or frank and responsible conversation. Prevention is the best investment in health!

Where to use the computer?

Decide with your teenager which computer to use and where: at school or in the living room (never locked in the bedroom!) and never in cyber cafes or unaccompanied.

Discuss with your teenagers any messages they receive that may be considered strange , scary, unpleasant, obscene, confusing or inappropriate. Establish a relationship of trust and dialogue with your students at school about research work on the Internet and warn them about strange messages or sending photos to unknown people. Never provide personal information that can be traced by cybercriminals, and never arrange to meet anyone you met online without warning or taking prior precautions, such as going with someone and in a public place. Do not hitchhike on the street or on the Internet! Never give your password to anyone. Do not accept offers or prizes offered on the Internet!

“Being smart means being alert and knowing how to always take care of yourself, including when using digital technology.”

Report and always seek more information on reliable websites . Brazil, through the Yves de Roussan Child and Adolescent Defense Center (CEDECA) in Bahia, opened a hotline in 2005 with international support and currently, through a new non-governmental organization (NGO) created for this purpose, SaferNet, in association with the MP, has been developing reporting and prevention work with servers and providers.

For more information, visit:

– www.denunciar.org.br; – www.netsmartz.org: with educational programs about the Internet for children, adolescents, schools, parents and communities (but in English), carried out by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Agencies (ICAC); – www.cybertipline.com; – www.safekids.com; – www.safetyed.org; – www.getnetwise.org; – www.bgca.org; – www.icactraining.org; – www.ecpat.net: international association against pornography and commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of children and adolescents; – www.crin.org: international information network on children’s rights; – www.unesco.org/webworld/innocence: innocence in danger, a program of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); – www.interpol.int/Public/Children/Default.asp.

References

1. Protecting Children Online: an ECPAT Guide. 2nd ed. 2002. 2. Interactive Internet Safety Presentations from Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program and NetSmartz. 3. Arnaldo CA, editor. Child abuse on the internet, ending the silence. 2001. 1. Pediatrician; professor at the Center for Studies on Adolescent Health (NESA); moderator of the scientific meeting held on 8/20/05. 2. Pediatrician at the Instituto Jovem, Bento Gonçalves-RS.