Monitoring internet use dilemma for parents

An Auckland college was in the news last week after telling parents they would be required to install spyware on their children's phones if the kids wanted to use the school Wi-Fi network.

The app allows parents to monitor their children's devices inside and outside of the home, limit downloads and purchases, set turn-off times, block X-rated sites and restrict access to social media.

Birkenhead College says this precautionary security app will allow students to focus on their education and ensure they are not exposed to unsafe or inappropriate material.

Some parents were nonplussed, being of the ‘I trust my kids and we have an open and honest relationship' school of parenting.

The Council for Civil

Liberties, as could be expected, says the move is a step too far.

A spokesman said young people may have issues they would rather their parents not know about — questions about their sexuality, perhaps, or contraception — and if they want to access sites related to these concerns, they should be able to do so without their parents being notified.

I can see both sides. I understand why some parents would be uncomfortable about trawling through their child's online world.

Equally, I appreciate that parents want to keep their kids safe.

In this 21st century it's not the real-world monsters you have to worry about, lurking down alleyways and hiding in parks.

The real damage is being done in the digital sphere, where kids are persecuted through social media.

It makes me sick to think of the boys and girls living in terror because of the relentless torment unleashed by their erstwhile friends via the internet.

And I wonder, given the shocking statistics releasedlast week around New Zealand's adolescent mortality rate, whether parents have a duty to monitor their children's internet activity.

In case you missed it, a report from Britain's healthcare thinktank, Nuffield Trust, ranked New Zealand worst of the 19 wealthy developed Western countries it surveyed when it comes to the death rate for teenagers and young people.

It is horrifying to think an 11-year-old would rather die than live in this beautiful country.

There is no doubt it's tough being a teenager today, but I think it's even tougher for the parents who love them.