One raised the spectre of paedophile rings lurking in the shadows online, ready to pounce on his unsuspecting teenagers by e-mail. Nobody I talked to had actually heard of any child being damaged, but nevertheless they regarded the Internet as a really big problem. And apparently there are other risks to worry about. A London conference on parenting in April 2000 was informed by Dr Jane Healy, and American educational psychologist, that computers can also damage children's brain development. Old-fashioned television is often indicted for its negative impact on children.
Parents complain that television is teaching their children to be violent shopaholics.
They protest that video games distract children form reading or riding a bike. Even parents who rely on the VCR to keep their children busy feel guilty about their pragmatic embrace of the electronic baby-sitter. The experts encourage these concerns. One American study warns that the impact of the media on children 'should be eliciting serious concern, not just from parents and educators but from physicians, public health advocates, and politicians as well'. Parents are encouraged to blame television because, in a world where they already feel pretty powerless, yet another outside influence on their children is experienced as a threat to their authority.