Hello pinhead,
The effect of library computers on children may be compared to the
effects of television, diet, and peers on our children. Without
guidance and supervision, almost anything can have an untoward affect
on children.
You may find this book helpful in your research, “NET EFFECTS: How
Librarians Can Manage the Unintended Consequences of the Internet” by
Marylaine Block, a librarian.
http://marylaine.com/
http://marylaine.com/book/index.html
Find this book at your local library, of purchase it on the Yahoo site
found after this blurb:
"In Net Effects, librarian, journalist, and Internet guru Marylaine
Block examines the issues and brings together a wealth of insights,
war stories, and solutions. Almost 50 articles by dozens of
imaginative librarians—expertly selected, annotated, and integrated by
the editor—suggest practical and creative ways to deal with the range
of Internet "side effects," regain control of the library, and avoid
being blindsided by technology again."
http://store.yahoo.com/infotoday//neteffects.html
Articles on the effects of violence, porn and the coarsening of our
culture:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/themes/coarse.html
http://www.valdosta.edu/spec/991028/d2.html
http://www.cla.ca/issues/citizen_gray.htm
On the other hand, for those that make good use of computer resources,
there are positive effects, found on this American Library Association
site:
http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/AASL/Publications_and_Journals/School_Library_Media_Research/Editors_Choice_Resources/Information_Power_Resources/select_bialo_html.htm
A negative aspect of children and computers is spelled out in this
website. Hazards such as repetitive stress injuries, vision problems,
toxic emissions from monitors and computers, and lack of exercise are
among others.
http://www.allianceforchildhood.net/projects/computers/computers_reports_fools_gold_2.htm
http://www.allianceforchildhood.net/projects/computers/computers_reports_fools_gold_4.htm
http://askeric.org/cgi-bin/printresponses.cgi/Virtual/Qa/archives/Educational_Technology/Effects_of_Technology/negeffects.html
From The Shifted Librarian:
"By the time they're age 10, 60 percent of children use the Internet.
That number grows to almost 80 percent for kids who are 16....
Like adults, young people are going online for a range of reasons, the
government research shows. Almost three in four use the Internet for
help with school assignments, while more than half use it for writing
e-mail, sending instant messages or playing games...."
http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/
From the Benton Foundation:
Preparing Disadvantaged Youth for the Workforce:
http://www.benton.org/publibrary/ttr/teentech02.pdf
Also results of a public survey on the role and use of libraries
http://www.benton.org/publibrary/kellogg/chapter2.html#mixed
This document may give you some insight into the brouhaha between
libraries, the government and free speech:
US v.American Library Association
http://www.cdt.org/speech/cipa/030623decision.pdf
The American Library Association is a good source on anything
library-related:
http://www.ala.org/
A good library portal can be found at this link:
http://www.libraryhq.com/orgs.html
The Computer Delusion argues the use of computers for education on
this Atlantic Monthly web page:
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/97jul/computer.htm
Libraries may suffer liability if they do NOT use a filter according
to this ALA memo:
“…Libraries that decline to install filters may face liability for
failing to
protect patrons from materials that are allegedly obscene or “harmful
to minors.” In addition, employees theoretically could sue a library
for creating a “hostile work environment” by allowing unfiltered
access on the library’s Internet terminals.”
http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Our_Association/Offices/Intellectual_Freedom3/Intellectual_Freedom_Issues/Related_Links6/internetfilteringmemo.pdf
A selection of library sites with Youth groups such as Teen Councils,
and Guys Read programs:
http://www.wiltonlibrary.org/innovate.html#ages
Support for library filters:
http://www.moralityinmedia.org/index.htm?internetIssues/nyccounc-librar2.htm
http://www.protectkids.com/donnaricehughes/article_filtersdontcensor.htm
Some of my own observations; While working as a Computer Tech in a
public library that served a large lower-income community, most all of
the kids I observed and helped were alone or with peers. Rarely did an
adult accompany them.
In this library, kids of all ages swarmed to the computers upon
entering the building. There were 25 computers loaded with Microsoft
software, and quality games for children. The software was used by a
small minority of patrons, with most users preferring to be online. A
small number of kids came to do "research", and these children were
sometimes accompanied by a parent or an older sibling. The majority of
kids 6-10 came in and played games, or searched for Yugio or Pokemon
characters. Kids 10 to 18 concentrated primarily on chat rooms and
race car, wrestling, and popular rock/hip-hop singer's sites. Many
kids paid $0.20 a page to print out images of wrestlers, cars and
Pokemon characters. Young people 18-23 primarily used chat rooms and
e-mail. A few did job searches and financial aid forms online, and a
few worked on résumés using Office software.
This library had a good internet filter, but many savvy kids were able
to circumvent the filters, and with the daily addition of so many new
“objectionable web sites” it was possible for some sites to slip
through the filter. When caught, these patrons were warned, and asked
to leave for the day. Sadly, I have asked children as young as 7
accessing porn intentionally, to leave. One teen, about 17, accessed
porn with his 6 year old sister sitting at his side. Each monitor had
a laminated sign with the rules posted. The rules stated patrons were
not to access adult material, and to do so would result in their loss
of privileges, for the day.
Many librarians in this library, were not fond of the computers in
general, and the sentiment towards filtering was mixed. At times the
library seemed like an arcade, with a majority of patrons playing
games. (Fortunately headphones were needed for sound) Most librarians
detested the idea of patrons accessing porn in the library, where
passing children could be exposed.
For patrons doing legitimate research, all of the staff were in
possession of a filter-bypassing password, and I never encountered a
single patron who was annoyed at having us “unlock” a blocked site.
Internet filters did not block the filthy objectionable language I
would see in chat rooms. I don’t think anyone knew quite how to handle
this, as I never saw anyone reprimanded for chat room cursing. There
were times I would admonish an older teen, if I knew them, for using
such language. Of course, when cursing on chat room screen, the kids
used a 72 point font, in red, making the four letter word visible from
across the room! What shocked me the most was seeing so many young
girls having 3-4 chat rooms open, and chatting suggestively with men,
or at least folks who described themselves as adults. I often reminded
them not to reveal personal information and yet many did. I shudder to
think what could happen to some of these unsupervised kids. When it
came to doing schoolwork, most kids would copy and paste articles from
the internet. When I told them that their teacher would recognize the
text as not being original work, I was almost always answered with a
shoulder shrug. Sometimes, even parents would tell their kids to copy
and paste information, add the child’s name and print it out to turn
in.
The collective effect of seamy chat rooms, games, unlimited access to
violence, exposure to porn, and poor research efforts seemingly made
easy(plagiarism) on these kids certainly contributes to the loss of
innocence and a coarsening of perceptions and attitudes. I feel
certain that some parents are unaware of what their youngsters access
online, and others don’t care. Some parents may think the library
internet filters are strong enough to protect their children, and that
the staff will intercept inappropriate material. Sadly, this is not
so.
Pinhead, I certainly hope this helped you! If anything is unclear in
my answer, please ask for an answer clarification before rating, and I
will respond!
Regards,
crabcakes-ga
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