Twenty-three per cent of Grade 5 students visit chat rooms on an average school day.
(Source: Young Canadians in a Wired World, Media Awareness Network, 2005) |
Chat rooms are one of the most interactive Internet areas, and a favourite stop for kids. A chat room is an Internet area where you can have live, real-time conversations with many people at the same time. Think of it as a telephone party line—except that you type rather than talk. Everyone can see what everyone else writes, but you can still be as anonymous as you want.
There are different levels of supervision in chat rooms. Some are open environments with no moderation; some have leaders who moderate the discussion; while others have monitors who assess what people write before anyone else gets to see it. If people misbehave, these live monitors can reprimand them or even kick them out.
Chat rooms can give kids a wonderful opportunity to:
- Talk to like-minded people in a controlled and kid-friendly environment
- Make new friends anywhere in the world, and keep in touch with old ones
- Chat one-on-one with people they might not otherwise get to talk to: teachers, community leaders, even experts in topics that interest them
Chat rooms do have their downside, though:
- Chat room participants who don't follow online rules of Netiquette can end up hurting others. "Flaming," the unrestrained expression of emotional or strongly worded opinions, is common in chat rooms.
- Discussions may be sexual or violent, or promote hateful attitudes or offensive activities.
- The anonymity of chat rooms can encourage some people to harass others—girls, in particular, may encounter verbal sexual harassment.
- More than any other place online, chat rooms are cruising grounds for pedophiles and other predators trying to make contact with young people. In the anonymous atmosphere of the Internet, where kids feel free to be honest, conversations can quickly become intimate.
- If children do develop online relationships with strangers they meet in chat rooms, this can lead to them being cyberstalked, sent pornography, or even pressured to arrange a real-world meeting. This is very rare; but it does happen, and the risk must be taken seriously.
- Kids, especially older one, may deliberately take risks by participating in chat rooms they find titillating. They may engage in flirting, or even cybersex.
Guidelines for chat-room safety
Young children (under 8) should not use chat rooms at all
Real-world rules apply equally in cyberspace. Just as we teach young children not to talk to strangers in the street, we should also teach them never to talk to strangers in chat rooms.
Older kids (8-13) should only use well-monitored chat rooms
As mentioned above, chat rooms are monitored in different ways. Some use live monitors, while others rely on software that automatically shuts people out for using inappropriate language. It's best for parents to choose a kids' site that uses adult monitors. (However, keep in mind that even in a monitored chat room, there's nothing to stop an adult from pretending to be a child and joining in the conversation.)
Know which chat rooms your teens visit, and who they talk to
Ask your teens about which sites they frequent, and who their chat buddies are. Visit their favourite sites to check out some of the conversations. You should encourage teens to only use monitored chat rooms.
Teach kids to always protect their personal identity
Remind your kids never to reveal information about themselves, their friends or family. Encourage them to use gender-neutral nicknames, so that no one can tell whether they're male or female. (It's especially important for them to understand that nothing is private online. Many chat rooms archive their conversations, and make them available on the Web.)
Children should never leave the public area of a chat room
Some chat rooms offer users the option of going into private rooms, or sharing private messages (PMs) that no one else can see or monitor. Children should never let themselves be lured out of the public area. (For information on chat room predators, see Online Predators.)
Teach your kids how to respond to uncomfortable situations
Kids should never respond to messages that make them feel uncomfortable or frightened. They should tell an adult right away, and avoid that chat environment in future.
Children should never arrange to meet someone from a chat room without informing a parent or other adult first.
Any meeting with an Internet friend should take place in a busy public place, with an adult present.
Use the resources on the right-hand side to learn how to reduce the risks associated with chat rooms.
