I've avoided the subject of the Internet for many months. Even though I've started writing articles about it several times I never submitted them because I wasn't sure it was right for this column. However, in the past few months, I have become convinced that the Internet is here to stay and it can have a significant impact on the family and our children.
I believe the Internet is a good thing. Through the Internet, one can have access to information from all over the world. As a parent, I have used the Internet to look up illnesses, medications, and other things that are of interest to me and of concern to my children. My oldest daughter has asthma. I regularly check several Internet sites that publish quality, up-to-date, information on asthma. I can find out new treatments, and the latest information on the illness. My daughters and I used the Internet last summer as we prepared for a weeklong trip to Washington, D.C. We made our hotel reservations and planned our itinerary through the D.C. visitor's bureau web site.
Among the many helpful organizations that maintain web sites are museums, libraries, government offices, parks departments, grade schools, high schools, and colleges, as well as medical facilities (like the Mayo Clinic). Did you know you can look up your physician's name at the Secretary of State's web site, find out if he or she has an active license and also find out if any restrictions are on file against his or her license? Our family has a web site that our relatives can visit and see current pictures of our children and catch up on our activities. We made our own home page with an inexpensive web page program. I read the news every morning at the CNN web site. Many newspapers worldwide, including The Citizen, have web sites. The best part is that most Internet sites are free!
The Internet is more than a set of encyclopedias could ever be, but it is not without problems. When searching the Internet, one has to invest some energy in discerning between that which is quality information and that which is not. You can be assured that something you look up in Encyclopedia Britannica, a respectable resource, is credible. You cannot always be assured of the credibility of the information on all Internet sites. You have to decide the credibility of the information based largely on the host of the site. I trust what I read from the Mayo Clinic, but I don't give equal credibility to other sites that discuss medical issues unless I know who/what they are.
Another drawback of the Internet is its breadth. You can find absolutely anything on the Internet. Parents must monitor a child's access to the Internet. Pornography, racist literature, and extremist materials are among the potential problems with the Internet. Software is available to screen such sites and make them unavailable to young users, but computer-wise children can find ways around such programs.
In our home, we treat the computer like the television. We use it when we have a reason to use it. We don't use it to "kill time" and we don't cruise the net because we are bored. We only have one computer that is in a common area of our home. I don't think computers in children's rooms are a good idea because supervision is more difficult. Also, computers in individual rooms (like televisions in individual rooms) make family interaction less likely.
If you like computers and you don't use the Internet, you don't know what you are missing. It is a very powerful tool that can be an asset to your home. If you have children in school, it is a very valuable tool, but like any tool, it has to be used wisely. If you have any questions about the use of the Internet with your family, please feel free to contact me.
