Internet Chat Rooms Should Be Banned

Internet Chat Rooms Should Be Banned

by: Kimyata Smith

Smith 2

Topic: Internet Chat Rooms Should Be Banned I.

Introduction A. An interconnected system of networks that connects computers around the world B.

First created for communication between military and universities

C. First known as ARPANET (advanced research projects agency network) D.

1972 became known as internet

E.

1989 World Wide Web was created

F.

Rapid growth

Sexual Predators G.

Arguments 1.

Having conversations with young children

2.

Some actually meet with children

3.

Children are taking advantage of

4. Use buddy list to monitor what websites that children have been on 5. H.

Anonymity gives predators an advantage

Counter arguments 1. Police have set up online organizations to catch sexual predators

I.

II.

Refutation 1.

Pose a threat to children

2.

Can cause children to become traumatized

3.

All predators won’t be caught

Cyber-bullying A.

Arguments

Smith 3 1. The use of today’s technology to send cruel and harmful messages

B.

C.

III.

2.

Pose a threat to others

3.

Slander a persons reputation

Counter arguments 1.

Could led to violence

2.

Takes away the rights of the first amendment

Refutation 1.

Riot about freedom of speech

2.

Some bullying puts one’s life in danger

Pornography A.

B.

C.

Arguments 1.

Influence sexual behavior

2.

Photographs of nude children

3.

Exposed to children at a young age

4.

Encourage pedophiles

Counter arguments 1.

Some images may be digital

2.

Contained in many movies

3.

Many forms of pornography are available to young children

Refutation 1. If anyone would take the time to digitalize a nude child then they may be a pedophile 2. Children shouldn’t be able to access any types of pornography without proper identification of age 3.

IV.

May effect daily life

Conclusion A.

Safer society

Smith 4 B.

Children will interact less with strangers

C.

Children won'

Internet Chat Rooms Should Be Banned Although computers have been around for many years, they are extremely important in today’s society. The internet is society’s access to any piece of information that one may need. It was first created in 1969 for communication purposes between militaries and universities. When the internet was first invented it was known as ARPANET. ARPANET stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. This network remained a private network for 20 years. It wasn’t until the year 1972 that the term internet was used. Finally, in the year 1989 anyone with a telephone connection could access the internet. Also, in this year the World Wide Web was proposed by Tim Berners. In The Internet: An Overview, Charles Dubow explains the World Wide Web as being a system of “protocol”. These protocols allow for conversations between any two computers so that anyone anywhere can search for and receive (or conversely create and send) text, graphic images, and audio and video files (Dubow). When the World Wide Web was available to society, the popularity of the internet reached its all time peak. Today the internet is being used to shop, to access entertainment, to keep in touch with others, and most importantly to access chat rooms. A chat room can be defined as a website that allows people to interact with other people that they may or may not know. These websites have been popular to adults in the past, but they have become very popular to young children. Popularity of chat rooms can be an advantage or a disadvantage in some situations. For example, many children are having conversations with pedophiles, some are

Smith 5 experiencing cyber bullying, and many are being exposed to pornography. If something isn’t done to better monitor situations that are happening in chat rooms the society may become a dangerous place for all mankind. According to the Encarta World English Dictionary, a pedophile, also a person known as a sexual predator, is an adult who has sexual desires for children or who has committed the crime of having sex with a child. These types of people have been walking the earth long before the invention of the internet. But there has been much controversy over whether or not chat rooms should be accessible to sexual predators. After doing an extensive amount of research on sexual predators committing crimes, one may feel that pedophiles should not be allowed to have access to chat rooms. From the time that children began walking and talking, their parents try to teach them a very important safety rule that should apply all through life. This safety rule is never talk to strangers. But in chat rooms this rule doesn’t exist. For example, in the article Social Networking Web Sites, it states that Myspace and similar web sites offer convicted child molesters almost unprecedented access to teenagers and even younger children. In chat rooms children are having conversations with all types of people; amongst these people pedophiles are present. Today the internet is so advanced that it allows pedophiles to disguise themselves as they would like to appear. For example, they say things that make them appear as a kind and trust worthy person when in reality they are the total opposite. One way that anyone can better disguise themselves on the internet is to create a very unique screen name for them. For example, young girls may use screen names such as “brat13” or “beaniebabeez” (Edwards). These types of screen names may indicate to a pedophile that the person they are contacting is a

Smith 6 young girl. But that is exactly the type of person they are looking for. Also, buddy list are used by many people that have internet access. A buddy list is an online identification service that enables users to monitor internet activities of friends (Edwards). In Pedophiles Are Gaining Easier Access to Children via the Internet , Edwards explains how a man followed a child’s internet activities, then posed as a psychic to have conversations with the child and eventually lure the child into a trap. Pedophiles use these techniques to their advantage to have numerous conversations with children. According to Edwards, many parents are unaware that their kids are viewing objectionable material and communicating regularly with people few would allow crossing the threshold of their homes. Once their relationship turns into one in which the child feels that he or she can trust the stranger, they may actually decide to meet up. In many times when a child meets up with a stranger, pedophile, they are taken advantage of. On the other hand, many people feel that pedophile shouldn’t be banned from chat rooms because police have set up online organizations to catch sexual predators. These organizations have police officers pose as children in order to have conversations with pedophiles. Then once they meet up with these people they are convicted of trying to lure children into having sex with them. Although this is a wonderful technique used to lower the amount of pedophiles interacting with children, Edwards’s states that most of the law enforcement agencies lack the proper equipment and funding that would enable them to detect pedophiles that are using the internet to exploit children. These people pose such a threat to children, if they were to have sex with the child, then it could cause the child to become traumatized. When using a system that people all across the world have access to, no one will be able to catch all pedophiles. Pedophiles pose such a great

Smith 7 threat to children that law enforcement officers should suggest that the chat rooms be banned for pedophiles. “Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no -one’s definition of your life, but define yourself”- Harvey S. Firestone. Bullying is a part of everyday life for some people. But with the use of internet, bullying has advanced to a new level. The most common form of bullying is cyber-bullying. According to Cyber Bullying by Polly Sparling, Ghyslan Raza says that cyber bullies are harassers that gossip, humiliate, and threat others through the use of electronic equipment. This article also stated that during a study conducted in 2000, the outcome reported that one out of every 17 kids between the ages of ten and 17 has been either threatened or harassed while online, with most of the incidents involving rumors of other offensive behaviors. Many people find more comfort in cyber bullying than bullying people in person. One reason this form of bullying is more comforting is because they are able to say things to others that they normally wouldn’t. Also, they can slander one’s reputation easily by writing a false statement about someone else and forwarding them to various people. Although cyber bullying may led to violence amongst others, if action is taken to stop cyber bullying it may also led to violence. In Hate Speech on the Internet Should Not Be Restricted by Charles Levendosky, he states that actions taken against cyber bullying may cause the up rise of riots because it would take away the rights given by the first amendment, which is freedom of speech. Also, it may make people feel as it they have no voice. If one is posting information about others that may put their life in danger, then the first amendment should be ignored and the government should restrict cyber bullying if it will keep others safe. If

Smith 8 society let’s bullying continue, then they are letting others get away with doing wrong. According to Cyber Bullying Pervades Public School Experience, “if you do something wrong there are ramifications. Kids need to learn they have to be accountable. “In order for children to be accountable for their actions, rules should be made immediately. According to the Encarta World English Dictionary, pornography is sexually explicit material which consists of films, magazines, writings, photographs, or other materials that are sexually explicit and intended to cause sexual arousal. The number one source of pornography currently and in epidemic proportions is the internet (Laaser). Internet pornography is dangerous for children, but it also dangerous for adults. Many adults have become cyber porn addicts in the past years. According to Pedophiles Are Gaining Easier Access to Children via the Internet, more that 70 percent of males and females agreed that internet pornography is addictive. In some situations where people have become cyber porn addicts they have lost jobs, vocations, and marriages due to internet addictions (Laaser). These people may become addicted to internet pornography because it is easy to access, the web sites are free, and one may remain unknown while they are on the web site. For example, before internet pornography was widely available, many people had to go inside stores to buy any form of pornography. When purchasing pornography at a store one is charged a fee and they are seen by others. But with technology today the internet makes pornography available to anyone at anytime of the day with no charge. For example, in the most recent study, the Sexual Recovery Institute of Los Angeles conducted a research survey and found that 25 million Americans visit cyber-sex sites every week and that 60 percent of all web site visits are sexual in nature (Laaser). The internet has made

Smith 9 pornography completely accessible to the youngest of internet user (Laaser). When children are in an early stage of life, what they see can shape their life in the future. Therefore, if a child experience viewing pornography at an early age, then it could influence them to participate in deviant sexual behaviors. Nonetheless, recent studies have shown that due to pornography children are having sex at an early age. In a study done during August of 1998, 88 percent of males acknowledged that teens are learning how to perform sex from porn (Edwards).

Also, according

to Internet Pornography is a Serious Problem, some have suggested that the average age a child first sees pornography has decreased from the age 11 to five (Laaser). Also, a survey found that one in four youth had an unwanted exposure in the past year to pictures of naked people or people having sex (The Office for Victims of Crime is part of the U.S. Department of Justice). Internet pornography does not only consist of photographs containing adults but also photographs containing nude children. Laaser also states that the most common depictions are of child nudity, children in erotic poses, and depictions of children in sexual activity, there is an incredible amount of depictions of rape, bondage, S&M, and adult-child intercourse. These depictions put children in a large amount of danger because these photos encourage pedophiles to seek out young children due to an increased desire of sexual relations with a minor. Even though many people agree that pornography should be banned, others feel that it shouldn’t be. One reason people feel that it shouldn’t be banned is because many movies contain pornography, like the Titanic. If laws were made to prevent pornography many mainstream movies would be in danger of not being eligible to be shown. As shown by the definition, the internet is not the only source of pornography. Some of the other forms of pornography can easily be accessed as

Smith 10 well. Another important reason is that since technology is so advanced in the 20th century, it is hard to tell whether the photographs are digital or not. According to Virtual Pornography, a supporter that feels as if pornography should be banned says, “Only a pedophile or child pornographer would have an interest in representing a picture of computerized image that appears to be of a child as being “real” child porn.” Also, any types of pornography shouldn’t be available to children if they can not present proper identification requiring the persons age. If society allows children to keep being able to view pornography, this may become a serious problem for them during their adulthood. Even if internet pornography is not banned, parents should put filters on their computers to block pop ups of sexually explicit materials that their children are to young to view. Internet technology has advanced much more rapidly than expected. It has gone from being a private communication system to a system used by everyone in the world. Although this technology is so advanced, one must strive to monitor activities that are being done over the internet in order to have a safer society. The police are doing everything that they can do, but due to the lack of equipment there isn’t much they can do to keep more people safe on the internet. Although the police are trying to prevent some situations that have become common on the internet, parents should also take the time out to better monitor what their children are doing while they are online. Due to the lack of internet monitoring, children are interacting with strangers more than they normally would if they were in a situation where they were face-to-face. Also, they are being bullied by people that wouldn’t have the courage to bully them face-to-face or spread rumors about them. Last but not least, the internet is exposing children too far too much pornography. Don’t let the internet take over society. One must do all they

Smith 11 can to make the internet a safer place not only for children, but for every man, women, boy or girl!

Smith 12

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