Bandar Seri Begawan - School and home education play vital role in protecting children from the harmful websites and any Internet-related activities, said some parents interviewed by The Brunei Times. Parents and guardians of Brunei's young generation said that they felt powerless when faced with the issue of Internet security for children in Brunei, regardless of their proficiency in Information Technology (IT).

According to an earlier report, Assistant Chief Executive IT Industry Development Group at the Authority for Info-communications Technology (AiTi) Wallace Koh Hoe Aik said that shared responsibility among the public, particularly parents, educators, librarians and other supervisors of children, as well as the high-tech industry and law enforcement, was the answer to making the Internet safe for children as each of them and providing a layer of protection and security for children online.

Children surfing the Internet unsupervised faced the risks of cyber bullying, online predators, paedophiles and exposure to pornographic materials.

Nur, a mother of two and currently working for the government, said that she had often felt concern and helpless when faced with the topic of Internet pornography due to her limited knowledge of computers and the Internet.

"It is something we really want to keep an eye on, but the truth is that we cannot really do anything about it," said the woman who is in her mid-forties, and admitted that her knowledge of computers is limited to only creating simple documents with Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

Nur said that she had previously considered of hiring professionals to set up "website filters" to prevent access to explicit websites via their home computers but decided against it in the end.

"I am confident about how I have taught them and I trust both my children a lot," she said.

"How they spend time on the Internet is very dependent on their self-discipline and also peer pressure. Fortunately they are very disciplined and have made very good friends," she added before stressing that school education is just as important.

She explained that all children are born a blank sheet and that they are easily influenced by their environment.

"It is up to parents and teachers to teach them right from wrong. We need to show them what they should and should not do instead of neglecting them," she said.

The same was said by 27-year-old Jason Ong, who said that awareness of the risks associated with children and the Internet is the best way to protect them.

Acting as a guardian for his 12-year-old cousin, the self-employed computer hardware technician said that it is virtually impossible to control the Internet's contents.

"It will take forever to make sure that you have blocked harmful websites and even then, there is no guarantee that it will work. The children nowadays will simply find another way around the security features you have set up," he said.

"It will be better to just sit down with these children and explain to them what are some of the risks and what they should avoid. It is the same as how our parents taught us to never accept candy from strangers. Same advice just different medium,"added Ong.

A teacher from a well-known private school who opted for anonymity echoed the sentiments.

He said that computers are no longer a luxury but a needed commodity in most households.

"Children now have their own rooms and with it their own computers and Internet access," he said.

"These children will usually get absorbed into using the net without much thought and realisation of the risks that come along with it," he said, adding that the factor of anonymity in social chat and networking sites make it a platform for online predators to build online relationships with young, innocent and gullible children.

The science teacher explained that these children also have no idea how information they release on such sites can be used against them.

"Your photos and personal details can be easily accessed and downloaded. It is like an invitation for identity theft and libel," he said.

A survey conducted recently by the International Telecommunication Union Council revealed that over 60 per cent of children and teenagers talk in chat rooms on a daily basis.

It was also reported that three in four children online are willing to share personal information about themselves and their family in exchange for goods and services, and that one in five children will be targeted by a predator or paedophile each year.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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