Bad Content Online Guide for Parents

February 14, 2010

Bad Content Online

Table of Contents

Definition & Background

Bad content online includes any online material that has the ability to negatively influence kids and/or teenagers (e.g. Adult Websites, Violent Websites Morbid Content, Shocker Content).  This contrasts with the majority of content available online which aims to at least be entertaining, or at best can teach children valuable information and skills.

Bad content can also include violent video games, hate sites, sites that seek to mislead or “brainwash”, and commercial sites that seek to scam youth.  Negative content can be sought out by kids or found inadvertently through search queries, pop-ups, and spam. [1] Videos of shocking content can spread like wildfire online and often get shared by peers in group settings just to see what kind of reactions they elicit.  It is also common for teens to actually post video responses expressing their reactions (sometimes humorous, often disgusted, offended, and at times offensive) to shocking content.

Data & Research

Researchers have long studied the effects of video games and television, and in the last decade have studied both positive and negative effects that the Internet can have on youth. Most research on kids’ Internet habits are conducted by market analysis groups, which is often not publicly-accessible.

In one study by Finkelhor, Mitchell, and Wolak, they found that 25% of respondents (ages 10-17) reported receiving unwanted exposure to sexual materials while online, while 19% received a sexual solicitation online. More of their research can be found at the Crimes Against Children Research Center. [2]

Advocacy organizations like the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) argue that exposure to marketing exploits children’s developmental vulnerabilities.  A recent British study found that “the pressure to consume and conform can lead to excessive levels of materialism and competition among children leading to bullying.”  CCFC also argues that marketing is a factor in the childhood obesity epidemic. [3]

Similarities & Differences to Offline Behavior

While media and entertainment have long been sources of debate in terms of how to manage content appropriate for children, the Internet provides access to a significantly broader range of information and sources that is difficult to restrict by law.  Anonymity and message boards can also adversely affect the way information is presented and spread on the Internet.

Internet users randomly stumble upon bad content online, even when they are not seeking it.  Even e-mail spam may contain sexually explicit content.

Harmful Effects

Exposure to inappropriate material whether online or off has the potential to become harmful and lead to psychological and social problems for children and teens.  It’s difficult to measure the effects exposure to pornography, for example, has on child development.  Other harmful effects that negative content online can lead to are isolation, Internet addiction, and phobias.

Online communities frequently share information anonymously, which can aid or provoke dangerous behaviors, such as eating disorders, self-injurious behaviors, suicide, hacking, and other illegal acts.

Online fora are generally open to the public, but tend to attract a self-selecting crowd, thus narrowing the range of opinions.  It may be difficult, and in some cases, harmful, for young people who are still developing reading and reasoning skills to navigate so much information without the guidance of a teacher or adult.

Recognizing if it has become a problem with your teen

Curiosity in age-inappropriate topics may signal that your child has found online material harmful or confusing.  Bad content and negative online experiences can be responsible for depression, delinquency, and substance use.

Some common signs might include mood swings, changes in weight and appetite, lapses in personal hygiene, or a newfound fascination with morbid or offbeat topics or entertainment.  These, of course, are common examples, but each child may react differently.

How to minimize your child’s exposure to bad content

It’s important for parents to reflect with their children on what constitutes bad content and harm.  Acknowledging the presence of harmful content with your child opens a platform for conversation if and when your child comes into contact with it.  Without such dialogue, whether or not material is harmful can seem ambiguous to your child.

Although adult content sites require visitors to certify they are above the age of 18, the onus of responsibility lies on the visitor.  As a response to the breadth of content on the web, some parents resort to preventative measures, such as installing software that restricts access.  While these may work on a home computer, a savvy teen can often circumvent the software or just use another computer or network.

Teenagers may resist restrictions on Internet usage and find ways around them, so it’s advisable to ask them for their thoughts on the range of content available online and encourage using the Internet in positive, safe ways.

Laws that Help

  • Communications Decency Act
    The Communications Decency Act imposes criminal sanctions on anyone who “knowingly uses any interactive computer service to display in a manner available to a person under 18 years of age, any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs.”
  • Child Online Protection Act
    The Child Online Protection Act aimed to restrict access to pornography, but deemed unconstitutional, not in effect.
  • Cyberlaw
    Cyberlaw is a term that encapsulates the legal issues related to use of communicative, transactional, and distributive aspects of networked information devices and technologies.

External Resources

References

1 “Children’s Positive and Negative Experiences With the Internet – PDF” by Valkenburg and Soeters (Oct. 2001)
2 “Children’s exposure to negative Internet content: effects of family context” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media (Dec. 1, 2005)
3 “Let’s Rewrite the Rules for Kids’ Media” – BusinessWeek.com (Feb. 28, 2008)

Terms Associated with ‘Bad Content Online’

porn, shocker, xxx, p0rn

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