Beware parents, internet filters may fail to shield kids from disturbing content

PARENTS OFTEN rely on filtering software to block children’s online contact with bullies, predators, pornography and other inappropriate material, but a new study casts doubt on the effectiveness of these tools.

Researchers conducted 1,030 in-home interviews with 515 British parents and their adolescent children. Overall, children with filtering software on their home computers were less likely to report negative online experiences, the analysis found.

But the difference was so small that researchers dismissed it as random. They report in the Journal of Pediatrics that 17 per cent of youngsterswithfiltersand22percentofthose without reported negative online experiences.

“Internet filtering, on its own, does not appear effective for shielding adolescents from things that they find aversive online,” said lead author Andrew Przybylski. “As young people grow into adults, there has to be a degree of risk tolerance as they build their own resilience. Keeping open lines of communication is key,” he said.

Michele Ybarra, president and research director for the Center for Innovative Public Health Research in San Clemente, California, said the study underscores the need for parents to discuss their concerns about the web with their children. “It’s really important to talk to your kids about how to keep their information safe online,” she said. “If you would prefer your child not look at pornography, talk to them about what that means to you.”

The researchers interviewed randomly selected parents and roughly an equal number of boys and girls ages 12 to 15 in households across the UK. Nearly one in six youths reported having at least one negative experience online in the past year, and 8 percent reported being contacted by a stranger seeking to befriend them. At the same time, one-third of parents said they used content filters.

The researchers were surprised to find what they described as “equivocal to strong evidence” that filters failed to reduce adolescents’ risk of aversive online experiences. Moreover, they expressed concern that filteringtechnologyprovidesfalseassurancetoparents and other caregivers. REUTERS