For today’s Net generation, instant messaging (IM) has replaced the telephone as the most popular way of talking with friends. Kids rush home from school, log on and continue schoolyard conversations, often staying online for hours.
To use instant messaging, you need to download software from the Internet and register with an instant messaging service. Because the most popular IM service is MSN Messenger, many kids refer to instant messaging as ‘MSNing.’ Instant messaging is a great cost-free tool for kids for talking to friends, keeping in touch with people in faraway places and for coordinating school projects.
Many parents confuse instant messaging with chat rooms when their kids say they are ‘chatting’ online. While both technologies involve communicating in ‘real time,’ there are important differences that have safety implications.
A chat room is a place on the Internet where you can talk to anyone in the world. Imagine opening up an international phone book, picking out random strangers and calling them.
Instant messaging is a safer environment because it permits users to select the people they want to talk with. Users create contact lists of friends to chat with and can block people they don’t know or don’t want to communicate with.
While kids have some control over who they talk to, it’s still possible to talk with strangers using IM. The prestige associated with a large instant messaging contact list means some kids have over 100 IM ‘friends,’ many of whom they’ve never met.
Most IM programs encourage users to fill out a ‘personal profile’ which includes detailed personal information. Once completed, this profile is available to anyone on the Internet. Kids should be taught to never fill out these kinds of profiles online.
Another issue with IM is that kids feel freer to say things online that they would never say face-to-face, so instant messaging can be used to spread rumours and gossip. For many kids, this means the peer pressures of school can continue long after they have left the school yard.
Most schools don’t allow IM use in the classroom, however it can be a great tool for students to use for collaboration on school work at home. Many kids use the technology to transfer homework files and talk to peers when working on group projects, getting help with homework or catching up on missed work.
Classroom lessons and activities:
Internet 101
Web sites | E-mail | Instant messaging | Social Networking and Virtual Environments | File-sharing | Text messaging
