aTypical Joe: A gay New Yorker living in the rural south.: Keep webcams from kids Joe at aTypical Joe has a good post out that serves as a reminder that keeping our kids safe online is super important.
Last year’s emotional New York Times piece, Through His Webcam, a Boy Joins a Sordid Online World, served as a reminder to all of us of the dangers and pitfalls kids face in the online world.
Joe caught the author of the piece, reporter Kurt Eichenwald along with the victim in the piece Justin Berry, on Oprah yesterday where they were interviewed.
Joe points to a good reminder at the end of the show which is that there is absolutely no reason that kids need webcams. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve tended to be pretty extreme in some of my previous posts about the need to protect your kids online and it absolutely should be stressed that there is no good reason for a kid to have a webcam.
Although most of us who are online have a pretty good grasp of the pitfalls and how our technology works, we all know parents who are not as connected. I think it’s important that we bring up online safety with them as friends and remind them of the potential danger out there.