There is no question that over the last 20 years, the internet has become integral to our daily lives. We depend on it.

We use it to follow the news, to keep an eye on the weather, to find and order everything from guns to gum, to discover the best route for our travels, to come up with the best recipe for dinner, to show us how to replace brake pads.

Everyday. Everything we need to know.

Because of our growing dependence on the internet, it makes sense that our schools are using technology to educate our children.

Using technology to tell better stories, collect assignments, access approved textbooks, prepare reports, and research academic journals and news sources is one thing.

It’s quite another thing to give students open access to virtually everything on the internet and teach them how to navigate it.

All this without any supervision.

Schools at every level and state, including Illinois, provide children with laptops and use internet-based platforms to manage classes. Although the exact numbers are unknown for Illinois, we know that over 80 percent of schools here provide students with laptops or tablets. This trend started during the pandemic when children were attending classes online. It is continuing today and accelerating.

Teachers routinely use online platforms to manage classroom assignments, communications, and activities. Google Workspace for Education provides various tools commonly used, such as Gmail, docs, assignments, Meet, forms, drive, etc., including Google Classroom, one of the most popular platforms in use today. Symbaloo is another platform for personal use and for teachers to set up online homepages for their entire class.

The platform allows teachers to set up standard tools and resources that can be used by all of the students.

There are many other platforms as well. What’s common for all of them is they sit right on the Internet, a place so dangerous for children that it makes the old-time Wild West look tame. All of it is available to children using these classroom resources without any adult supervision.

Children are free to explore wherever they can. Many parents are not aware of this.

Do you think this is wise?

We have known for years that the internet is a dangerous place. Threats are lurking in every corner. Here are a few:

Online Predators — One of the most serious dangers of unsupervised internet access for children is the risk of encountering online predators. These individuals often use social media platforms, chat rooms, and online games, all of which are directly available from these platforms, to target vulnerable young users. They may pose as peers, gradually building trust and grooming children for potential exploitation. In some cases, this can lead to dangerous offline meetings, with 1 in 20 children admitting to arranging secret meetings with someone they met online.

Inappropriate Content — Unsupervised internet access can expose children to violent, sexual, or age-inappropriate content. Without proper guidance and filtering, young users may inadvertently access websites containing explicit sexual material (even Wikipedia has explicit sexual material), violent or disturbing imagery, instructions on carrying out illegal activities, hate speech, and extremist ideologies. Such exposure can have lasting psychological effects on children and may twist their perceptions and behaviors in harmful ways.

Addiction and Mental Health Concerns — Excessive and unmonitored internet use can lead to addiction-like behaviors in children. This can result in irregular sleep schedules, decreased physical activity, social isolation, neglect of schoolwork and other responsibilities, and can lead to the child developing low self-esteem, poor body image, and potentially leading to anxiety, depression, and even suicide.

Misinformation — Children lack critical thinking and reasoning skills, making them especially susceptible to false information and propaganda. False information is all over the internet. Even many adults are easily taken in. Children have no chance. There are many false claims that have become accepted by vast numbers of people all over the world. Here are some examples: people can be born into the wrong body; COVID-19 vaccines prevent the spread of the disease; surgical masks are effective in preventing the spread of viruses; sex is a continuum, not binary; all white people are oppressors; and on and on.

Cyberbullying — Cyberbullying has emerged as a pervasive problem, with research indicating that about 60% of teenagers have experienced some form of online harassment. Unlike traditional bullying, cyberbullying can occur 24/7, following children into their homes and private spaces through their devices. The psychological impact can be severe, leading to depression, anxiety, decreased self-esteem, and in extreme cases, self-harm or suicidal thoughts.

These are just some of the more significant threats to children on the internet. There are many more. Each one is due to children being unsupervised online.

Would you send your twelve-year-old child into an outlaw biker bar alone? How about letting him hang out in a brothel? Or a gentlemen’s club? What about sending your 13-year-old daughter out onto Bourbon Street in New Orleans alone at midnight during Mardi Gras? Would you tell your early teen children to hitchhike from downtown Chicago to Joliet late on Friday night?

No? Then why do our schools, why do we, let them explore the internet entirely on their own?

Find out what your children can access through their schools’ online platforms.