Net-safety perspective

This Charlotte Observer columnist makes a darn sensible point. He points to a “National Survey of Children’s Health” by University of Michigan’s Children’s Hospital finding that Internet safety was ranked as the No. 7 children’s health problem by the US public (smoking, drugs, and obesity top the list). What’s interesting, he writes, is that “suicide, depression and cancer didn't make the top 10,” even though “suicide was the third leading cause of death for children aged 10 to 19 in 2004 … cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among children 1 to 14 years old … and “about half of the estimated 19 million new sexually transmitted disease cases occur in people under 25,” he cites research as showing. He concludes with something we and our kids do need to think about where Net safety’s concerned: “Kids think the Internet is a great way to meet people. It is a great way to meet people. It's also a horrible way to meet people. You can't see them. You can't look in their eyes, read their body language or ask for ID. There are no witnesses…. We've done a poor job educating our kids about online safety in general. But put it in its place. Computers you can turn off. Cancer, depression and AIDS you cannot.” Balanced reporting seems to be a trend. Here’s the Contra Costa Times on how the Internet is “safer than it seems."