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Rethinking IM Privacy For Kids
mackles writes, "Now that the world has read the despicable instant messages from Rep. Foley, should parents take a second look at monitoring their kids' IMs? After all, it was IM logging that exposed the scandal; would we have found out otherwise? Cost is not an issue, there are free monitoring tools. Should parents tell their kids before they monitor? Parents and their tech-savvy kids are at odds on the topic. From the article: 'As many as 94 percent of parents polled this summer by the research firm Harris Interactive said they've turned to Web content filters, monitoring software, or advice from an adult friend to keep electronic tabs on their children.' The article quotes one 18-year-old as saying, 'A lot of kids are smarter than adults think.'"
No. I'll hazaard a guess that you're older than me (I'm 18) and therefore farther from childhood. I can assure you that talking to a child about why something is wrong will do very little except arouse their curiosity. If they know you're checking logs and history to make sure they're toeing the line, they'll either push back until you cave (rare, requires both headstrong child and weak parent) or give in and grow up accepting surveillance as a part of life (common). You can watch their computer habits with your eyes if you want to, that's normal and expected. But when you use the computer to make your surveillance constant, flawless, and inescapable, you're doing much more harm than good.
ResidntGeek