Internet
Essay by review • August 27, 2010 • Essay • 5,587 Words (23 Pages) • 1,946 Views
The Internet links people together via computer terminals and telephone lines
(and in some cases wireless radio connections) in a web of networks and
shared software. This allows users to communicate with one another
wherever they are in the "net." This Internet link began as the United States
military project Agency Network Advanced Research (ARPANET) during
the Vietnam War in 1969. It was developed by the United States
Department of Defense's (DOD) research people in conjunction with various
contractors and universities to investigate the probability of a communication
network that could survive a nuclear attack. For the first decade that the
Internet was in existence, it was primarily used to facilitate electronic mail,
support on line discussion groups, allow access to distant databases, and
support the transfer of files between government agencies, companies and
universities. Today over 15 million people in the United States and
approximately 25 million people worldwide access the Internet regularly,
including children. Many parents believe that depriving their children of the
opportunity to learn computer skills and access the knowledge available on
the Internet would give them a distinct technological disadvantage as they
enter the twenty first century. Portelli and Mead state by the year 2002, the
reported number of children who access the Internet from home is projected
to increase from the current 10 million to 20 million (6). In addition to home
access, Poretelli and Meads further stated that as of 1997 the percentage of
United States schools that offered Internet access as a part of their regular
curriculum was over sixty percent. There were over nine thousand public
libraries across America in 1997, sixty percent of these offered on-line
access to its users (7). In view of this information, one can concluded that the
on-line percentage for both schools and libraries has increased notably since
1997 and the number continues to grow as more of these facilities "plug in
and log on." Whether at home, at school, or at the public library, children are
accessing the Internet. The word "children" is somewhat ambiguous
considering the range of ages that it encompasses. For instance, eighteen is
the normally accepted age at which a child reaches legal adulthood; therefore,
"children" would refer to any age between birth and seventeen. Porterfield
stated that a study conducted in 1997 by Gateway 2000, a leading computer
manufacturer, concluded that most children Internet access and computer
skills typically commence with their school work. Although in some cases it
may be earlier and in some later, the typical age at which a child begins to
learn computer skills are kindergarten age, or age five. For example at the
Children Television Work Shop website, a young child can click on a query
and in a few days an E-mail arrives. For the purpose of this analysis, the
broad word "children" will be condensed to contain two age groups --
elementary level, ages' 5-12, and secondary level, ages' 13-18. At either
level, the World Wide Web poses clear dangers to children. These children
grow up enlightened with technology, which they take for granted and know
exactly how to use it. Most parents are not conscious of what lies behind that
innocuous screen. If you give one's child carte blanche use of a computer
attached to a modem, it is as serious as handing a ten-year-old the car keys
and telling them to have a good time. These "cyberchildren" are vulnerable to
potential dangers as a result of Internet use. These perils include contact with
dangerous individuals, exposure to sexually suggestive materials, exposure to
explicit conversations and obscenity in chat rooms, and access to violent
interactive games. One very dangerous downside to Internet communication
is its potential for the telling of untruths. One can never be certain at any given
time to whom one is talking or if the conversation is sincere and truthful.
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