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Beware of Newsgroups

Protecting Your Children from Newsgroups: What You Should Know

Bulletin boards are a thing of the past in our day. Newsgroups are what are now being used as open forums for anyone who has like interests. Anyone can read or post whatever they want as well as download or upload things.

These popular online forums take focus on a variety of topics that may range from politics and economics to video games and sea creatures. Some are limited to a particular topic, while others are open to whatever topics the members feel like discussing.

Once a posting is made, anyone with access to the internet can read and respond to the material. There are currently more than 100,000 newsgroups on the Usenet website, with an estimated 20,000 of them being active. Although newsgroups might appear harmless on the surface, there are many reasons to keep your children away from the material they contain.

Here is why newsgroups are unsafe for children:

Just like several online communities, many newsgroups function with an “anything goes” mentality. For example, some topics may consist of stories on child molestation or even advocate child pornography.

People don’t like to look at the dark truth sometimes, but the reality is that pedophiles use these forums to connect others like themselves to share child pornography or other indescribable things. On top of this the drug organizations as well have been reported to try and leverage forums to make drug deals. Why would any parent want their child hanging around these places, you would not send your ten year old child into a bar in the slums of New Orleans.

Parents that have children that frequently go online need to be very concerned with these newsgroups. No one supervises these sites which allows for anything to be said. A kid wanting to discuss school work could very easily find themselves in a conversation filled with inappropriate content.

For a child to view content that includes sex, pornography, hate, rasicm, and much more they just need to visit a newsgroup site on a computer that has an internet connection. A child will be damaged emotionally by some of the content available and it could even cause them to develop a desire for some of the filth.

Additionally, a child could obtain explicit content, download it and hide the material from their parents. Because almost anyone can be involved in a newsgroup, it makes it possible for online predators to contact children and attempt to lure them into sexual activities offline. These are just a few of several reasons to remain cautious of such internet communities and do your best to keep your children away from them.

Just say “NO!” to newsgroups:

There are countless twisted individuals in the world, and the internet makes the perfect hiding place. For all the parents who are concerned about the dangers of newsgroups and similar online communities, we offer these three tips to help keep your children safe:

1.) Online forum activity has to be limited for children. If your kids are part of a community like this be careful to make sure it is being moderated and that the topics are appropriate.

2.) As well as telling your children not to post photos or personal information, teach them so they understand why they should not do this.

3.) Internet filtering software can restrict your children entirely from these social communities. Newsgroups and other sites that may contain undesired material can be filtered out by you using a filter.

Educating yourself is the first step to understanding the threat of newsgroups. The second step is putting your knowledge into action and keeping your kids away from these dangers.