Chatting online
Chatting online is a fantastic experience for children and young people. It provides an innovative way to share homework tips, learn new social skills and communicate with friends and relatives across the world and this is done through a number of applications. Chat rooms, instant messenging (IM), blogs and forums are some of the most common facilities for online chatting. And chatting using a broadband internet service can actually save you money on the phone bill!
Children and young people are now able to talk with friends and meet new ones in a way never seen before. As a parent or carer you will be familiar with your child using the computer as soon as they arrive home from school to chat with their friends - but what can they possibly have to talk about after spending all day at school together?!
Well, in a recent survey by the CEOP Centre, over 25% of 11-16 year olds said that chatting using IM, blogs or chat rooms was their favourite thing to do online so it's a really popular pastime for young people.
The language used in online chat is very similar to that used in mobile phone text messages- it's abbreviated and is almost a language in itself. This can be a great way of chatting but can also be confusing for those of us who don't understand it or use it.
Here we explain what these chat applications are and how they can be used.
Children and young people are now able to talk with friends and meet new ones in a way never seen before. As a parent or carer you will be familiar with your child using the computer as soon as they arrive home from school to chat with their friends - but what can they possibly have to talk about after spending all day at school together?!
Well, in a recent survey by the CEOP Centre, over 25% of 11-16 year olds said that chatting using IM, blogs or chat rooms was their favourite thing to do online so it's a really popular pastime for young people.
The language used in online chat is very similar to that used in mobile phone text messages- it's abbreviated and is almost a language in itself. This can be a great way of chatting but can also be confusing for those of us who don't understand it or use it.
Here we explain what these chat applications are and how they can be used.
Online Gaming
Online Gaming – or you and your children may know it better as Miniclip, Runescape and World of Warcraft – as these are just some of the most popular sites. Playing games online is a fantastic pastime for children and young people and its popularity continues to grow at a rate that is growing with technological advances.
Children are now able to play games with others or individually while the internet also opens up the possibility of playing with 'friends' from right across the world.
The opportunities are becoming endless.
Online games can range from the simple two player interaction such as chess games, to the complex, multi player games - such as Lord of the Rings Online - which are based on a fantasy world.
In some games, players can trade items with other players, they can chat about how to get from one level to the next and they can even buy items within the games using fake 'game specific' currency. Sometimes, to get to the next level in a game or to complete a particular task, players can ask for, or trade, 'cheats'. In some cases, paedophiles who are gaming online will use this aspect within games to draw children and young people into a 'grooming' scenario - trading a 'cheat' to perhaps engage a child in a sexual act for example.
A few simple steps will help your child stay a lot safer in these environments.
Children are now able to play games with others or individually while the internet also opens up the possibility of playing with 'friends' from right across the world.
The opportunities are becoming endless.
Online games can range from the simple two player interaction such as chess games, to the complex, multi player games - such as Lord of the Rings Online - which are based on a fantasy world.
In some games, players can trade items with other players, they can chat about how to get from one level to the next and they can even buy items within the games using fake 'game specific' currency. Sometimes, to get to the next level in a game or to complete a particular task, players can ask for, or trade, 'cheats'. In some cases, paedophiles who are gaming online will use this aspect within games to draw children and young people into a 'grooming' scenario - trading a 'cheat' to perhaps engage a child in a sexual act for example.
A few simple steps will help your child stay a lot safer in these environments.
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