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27 May 2005 Chatmag News.

Internet Chat and Kids.  It Can be Fun and Safe.

Chat rooms for kids and teens may be a place frequented by online predators, but with choosing a kid safe chat area and attention to safety, can also be a fun place for children of all ages to keep in touch with friends and make new friends worldwide.

Online predators generally use the free chat rooms on AOL and Yahoo! Chat. Both chat areas are unmoderated, and offer little protection for children. In Yahoo! Chat in particular, there are several chat rooms devoted to incest and pedophilia. So far, Yahoo! has not issued a statement regarding these rooms, and whether they will delete them or not. To its credit, Yahoo! has in the past closed several rooms of a questionable nature.

IRC, Internet Relay Chat, is another area that should be out of bounds for children, unless the IRC network is designed for family chatters, such as the various Christian IRC networks. The larger IRC networks are not usually used by children, as it requires in most cases an IRC client program that is downloaded and installed in their computer.

Online forums in general also provide a measure of safety. Forums differ from chat rooms in that chat is live, while forums are post and read sites, and not live in the manner of chat rooms. Many sites require a free registration, which provides the forum operator with an IP address. IP addresses are an integral part of the Internet, and helps law enforcement track down predators.  You should not worry about anyone finding your IP address, without the cooperation of your Internet Service Provider, you cannot be traced to your home via IP alone.

Safe havens for chat are listed within Chatmag's Directory, please see the External Links after this article.

Internet chat and discussion forums can be fun and safe, as long as parents and children heed basic safety rules, and stay clear of unmoderated chat areas.  Chat can be a fun place to talk to kids near and far, and a little prevention will ensure a good experience.

Read up on Internet chat safety. A link is provided below for Chatmag's Safety Section, or do a web search for "kids chat safety". Parents should be involved in their children's online activities, don't let the computer become your child's "best friend".

If children chat in moderated chat sites that are designed specifically for their age group, they should have little to fear from predators. This does not mean a parent or child should let their guard down anywhere on the Internet, but don't let it spoil a good time online. It can be a good experience, and meeting new friends from around the world will be something they will treasure into adulthood.

--Chatmag Staff--

Permission to Copy and/or Link.  Permission is granted to copy this article, giving proper credit to Chatmag News. Permission to link is granted, with the link pointing directly to the article URL

External Links.

Chatmag Safety Section.

Chatmag Kids Chat Listings.

Chatmag Teen Chat Listings.
 
 
 
 
 

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