HOW PORNOGRAPHY AND PREDATORS REACH KIDS

The Internet is an electronic medium where information and communication travel easily along and across many different routes or channels. You’re probably most familiar with e-mail and Web sites, but your kids might be more tied into the Web and may communicate via chat rooms, instant messages, Usenet newsgroups, and peer-to-peer connections.

All of these communication modes are wonderfully useful tools serving many needs but, like any other tools, they can be misused. Because Internet channels can carry all types of information, they can receive and deliver inappropriate content. The same channels that let your children send birthday greetings to friends or share MP3 music files can also deliver off-limits images, or even strangers with less-than-honest intentions.

This section of NetSafeKids explains the various modes available for electronically sending and receiving content and communications.