Ethical Computer Use for Kids

Problems

• A February 2010 report by the Pew Internet and American Life project lists numerous risks for kids online, including inappropriate content, cyberbullying and sexual predators, as well as risky behaviors such as texting while driving and "sexting." Additionally, online media presents kids with almost unlimited opportunities for plagiarism and digital piracy--ethical and legal issues they may not fully understand.

Context

• Opportunities for irresponsible behavior online are aggravated by kids' age and developmental issues. Adolescents go through a stage psychologists call "identity formation," where they experiment with everything from their hairstyle to their political beliefs. This is normal and usually healthy, and the Internet can facilitate this sort of exploration. But it also makes it easy for kids to behave irresponsibly and magnifies the consequences of any unethical decisions. Furthermore, kids often act impulsively and don't consider potential consequences of their online behavior. Unethical actions such as sending suggestive photos or writing angry posts on social networking sites can have serious consequences kids don't understand.

Misconceptions

• Kids often don't understand the risks and responsibilities of using the Internet. In a 2004 paper published in the International Journal of Information Ethics, Shifra Baruchson-Arbib and Eti Yaari write that the primary cause of Internet plagiarism is "the assumption that the Internet is a public domain." Believing they can use anything they can find online, they may violate copyright or plagiarize without understanding what they've done. They may also not understand what they post online can potentially be seen by anyone, even if they've tried to make it "private."

Considerations

• One way parents can deal with the problems of Internet exposure is to monitor their children's use of computers. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, most parents do that by placing computers in shared areas of the home. But mobile computing devices such as phones make it easy for kids to get online unsupervised. A 2008 Pew survey found 45 percent of teens use the Internet somewhere other than their home, school or library.

Potential

• Luckily, it may be possible to improve kids' online behavior by teaching them about computer ethics at a young age. South Korean schools begin teaching computer ethics in elementary school, using songs and classroom instruction to help students learn responsible online behavior. In the United States, groups such as Common Sense Media have developed similar curriculum to teach kids how to responsibly use computers by studying broad ethical issues such as privacy and plagiarism. These approaches help kids make good decisions when using the Internet today, and help prepare them to adapt to the technology of tomorrow.