Earlier this year, a Vermont teen was killed after a man he corresponded with over the internet allegedly sent a pipe bomb to his house. The educational benefits of computers are clear. But for parents, teachers and law enforcement officials, protecting children from the seedier side of the 'Net is nerve-racking. If anything, I hope it was a learning experience for her. I know - she won't do it again.
Schools fight for funding to provide students access to the wealth of information available online.
Parents are doling out thousands of dollars to buy personal computers which will give their kids an edge in an increasingly electronic world. But the worldwide web is appropriately named. It encompasses almost everything and everyone in the world - the good and the bad. Supervision, preach most educators and computer experts, is the only way to make sure your kids stay out of the web's dark alleys and dangerous corners. The internet should be regarded as a tool, and a powerful one at that.