I need a speech on "chat rooms are dangerous"
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A growing number of parents are worried about their children when they are on the internet, given the lurid nature of certain teenage chatrooms and the ease with which adults can infiltrate what are supposed to be teenage-only preserves. Most schools run such well-filtered and protected systems that their pupils cannot get anywhere harmful, but at home it's a different story.
Most of the big internet service providers run a "chatroom" system with headings such as sport, business, over-50s or teens. People adopt a user name such as Naughty Angel or Rude Rodent and enter a room with up to 150 other users. A constant babble of typing is going on in the main window where everyone can see and respond to everyone else. Usually the hosts (service providers) supervise the main chatrooms, where they root out bad language or sexy talk and ban offenders. Sadly, though, even here not everything is supervised. You can "whisper" to an individual, ie hold a private conversation with someone in a separate window, and these are uncensored. This is where the real danger lies - it is quite easy for a newcomer to say, for instance, that they are a 16-year-old lad, but in fact turn out to be a 55-year-old paedophile.
In fact, in Microsoft Network (MSN) chatrooms, anyone can be a host and create their own chatroom, which operate under titles such as Hot Teens!, Teens Flirting! and Young Girls Chatting to Older Men. These rooms appear to be unsupervised and the host is responsible for behaviour in the room. You have to apply for membership for chatrooms hosted by service providers, giving your date of birth. Only teens can enter teen sites, and, ironcially, parents and teachers who ought to visit these sites no longer can because of these very restrictions.
So what are they being restricted from? A newcomer cannot fail to notice the striking openness and honesty between respondents - they feel safe in their anonymity so they have no reason to lie. But a worrying aspect is the large number of cries for help. Broken families and moving away from relatives mean kids often have no one to turn to for help. Many do not feel able to go to a teacher, and most do not belong to a church or other religious organisation so have no support there either. School counsellors cannot be trusted as they may tell their problems to the school or parents. Alex, 16, said he will "never trust a counsellor again" after his parents were told of his problems.
Most of the big internet service providers run a "chatroom" system with headings such as sport, business, over-50s or teens. People adopt a user name such as Naughty Angel or Rude Rodent and enter a room with up to 150 other users. A constant babble of typing is going on in the main window where everyone can see and respond to everyone else. Usually the hosts (service providers) supervise the main chatrooms, where they root out bad language or sexy talk and ban offenders. Sadly, though, even here not everything is supervised. You can "whisper" to an individual, ie hold a private conversation with someone in a separate window, and these are uncensored. This is where the real danger lies - it is quite easy for a newcomer to say, for instance, that they are a 16-year-old lad, but in fact turn out to be a 55-year-old paedophile.
In fact, in Microsoft Network (MSN) chatrooms, anyone can be a host and create their own chatroom, which operate under titles such as Hot Teens!, Teens Flirting! and Young Girls Chatting to Older Men. These rooms appear to be unsupervised and the host is responsible for behaviour in the room. You have to apply for membership for chatrooms hosted by service providers, giving your date of birth. Only teens can enter teen sites, and, ironcially, parents and teachers who ought to visit these sites no longer can because of these very restrictions.
So what are they being restricted from? A newcomer cannot fail to notice the striking openness and honesty between respondents - they feel safe in their anonymity so they have no reason to lie. But a worrying aspect is the large number of cries for help. Broken families and moving away from relatives mean kids often have no one to turn to for help. Many do not feel able to go to a teacher, and most do not belong to a church or other religious organisation so have no support there either. School counsellors cannot be trusted as they may tell their problems to the school or parents. Alex, 16, said he will "never trust a counsellor again" after his parents were told of his problems.
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