The World Wide Web is an incredible resource that gives billions of people the opportunity to share their knowledge and interests, explore new ground, connect with people, and gather endless amounts of information. It is a tool that has certainly changed the world and the way that humans move through every day life in an extremely beneficial way. However, there are always exceptions to a rule. While the internet allows for a plethora of valuable information to become available with the click of a mouse, it does not simultaneously prohibit the negative, malicious views that some people in today’s world yearn to have heard. Canadian children aged 12-17 living in Canada use the internet approximately 13 hours per week (2008). Although this may not seem like a horrific amount of “screen time”, parents and teachers must be cognizant of what information is being bombarded upon children during those long hours.

With that idea in mind, the main purpose of this blog post is to explore how these sites target children and adolescents, what parents and teachers can do protect children, and lastly, a question that interests me immensely: are there any benefits to letting our children view these sites?

As teachers ask their students to use the internet for research, they must be aware of illegitimate, perverse, and completely discriminatory information their students may come across. The scarier thought is the actual probability of students encountering these sites. According to the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, there was a “twenty percent increase in the number of hate and terrorist-abetting websites, social network pages, chat forums, and micro bloggers of the past year, to the total of 11,500.” (2010). While these sites continue to grow, hate-groups are becoming voracious in their quest for followers, causing them to target the most vulnerable of society: children. The American Psychiatric Association states that hate sites have begun using cartoons, bright colours, and music as just some of the ways to lure children and teens into visiting their sites (2001). The most at risk children enticed by these sites are those who feel stigmatized, lonely, and marginalized – as they wish to feel a sense of belonging to something. So, what can teachers and parents do to protect children from being beguiled by these sites? First of all, communication is key. Parents and teachers must talk with children to explain things like historical facts so that they are aware of the truth. When children have that information and store it, if they do come across a hate or racist website, they should have a better ability to differentiate between the truth and radical, bigoted personal opinion. As educators, if we teach critical thinking skills in our classrooms, those proficiencies will extend to our students’ online research and life outside of the classroom. It is our hope that they will be able to decipher what it is a site is trying to convince or persuade them of. Students must also be reminded of the fact that the internet is not consistently patrolled for right and wrong, good or bad. Due to these lax regulations, children and adolescents must recognize that anyone can post or proclaim anything on the internet, regardless if the information is completely fabricated or entirely immoral. However, websites like the International Network Against Cyberhate (2002) are working tirelessly to stop cyber-hate. Their website has an area where you can report racist and hate content you have come across online. If parents or teachers want to take more drastic measures, they can have filtering software installed on their computers, which allows them to block children from retrieving “inappropriate” materials.

Examples of hate sites currently online:

American Nazi Party - http://www.anp14.com/

Stormfront White Nationalist Community - http://www.stormfront.org/forum/

The New Black Panther Party - http://www.newblackpanther.org/

As a future teacher, this topic is extremely interesting to me. I agree that I do not want my students to believe what they read or hear on these websites or videos, but I do not agree with the idea of blocking them out. In my opinion, sheltering students from these sites and videos does not give them an authentic understanding of the real world and what they may encounter as they grow up. While we hope that every child learns about equality and tolerance from their families, remember that many people around the world believe in these misconceptions about specific ethnic groups and they continue to promote these hateful, racist ideals. As a teacher, if I shelter my students from these sites, am I not doing them a disservice? I believe I am. If a student came to me inquiring about a site or online video they found that explicitly and negatively talked about a specific group of people, the best thing I could do as an educator would be to use that opportunity to educate that student, and the rest of my classroom, about combating racism and hatred that they may find across all mediums, as well as discussing media awareness. Teachers should not be encouraging students to visit these sites (administration and parents would not understand that request either) but I believe students who bring these things to our attention can incite raw opportunities for learning, knowledge, and understanding. While the subject of racism and hate can be extremely uncomfortable for people to talk about, I believe it is our responsibility as educators to do what needs to be done, regarding many topics, to help model our students into equitable, moral, and tolerant citizens. If we sweep a topic (like racism or hate) under the rug, we do not deal with the questions our students are asking, and we may even be letting them succumb to these persuasive sites without even knowing it.

So how do you react to a student who shows you a site or a video like the one below?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p50qHzC01E0

(Explicit language and racist content. Viewer Discression is advised.)

Do you hurry to get it off the screen as quickly as possible or do you open up a discussion for the rest of the class to join in on? Personally, I believe this could be turned into a truly “teachable moment”.

Additional Resources/Links to Visit: (Helping fight online racism and hate)

Anti-Defamation League: http://www.adl.org/

Danger in Cyber Space – UN NGO Report: http://www.masortiworld.org/molami/unitednations/news1

Stop Racism and Hate Collective: http://www.stopracism.ca/sitesubject_search/results/taxonomy%3A1079

International Association of Internet Hotlines: https://www.inhope.org/en/about/about.html

References:

Lamberg, L. (2001). Hate-Group Websites Target Children, Teens. Psychiatric News (American Psychiatric Association). Volume 32, No. 3, Pg. 26. Retrieved from http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/36/3/26.full (20 January 2011).

Digital Terrorism and Hate (2010 Version). Simon Wiesenthal Centre. Retrieved from http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/s/content.asp?c=lsKWLbPJLnF&b=4442915&ct=8430507 (1 February 2011).

Protecting Children and Teens from Online Hate (n.d.) Media Awareness Network | Réseau éducation médias. Retrieved from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/online_hate/protect_child_hate.cfm (20 January 2011).

Rosenbaum, S. & Baird, R. (1999). Hate, Bigotry, and Prejudice: Definitions, Causes, & Solutions. Retrieved from http://www.questia.com (13 January 2011).

Weaver, C. & Carter C. (2003). Violence and the Media. Retrieved from http://www.questia.com (13 January 2011).