Violent and hateful content

Violent content / Online hate / Tips for parents

Violent content

Kids today live in a media culture where they are constantly exposed to violence in movies and television, video games and music. Violence has always played a role in entertainment, but in recent years dramatic changes have taken place. Research shows that media violence has increased in quantity and has also become much more graphic, sexual and sadistic.

The Internet is adding an entirely new dimension to the issue of media violence. Kids are exposed to a continuum of violence on the Internet, ranging from sites with sophomoric cruel humour to disturbing depiction of torture and sadism.  Today, children and teens can download violent music lyrics (including lyrics removed from retail versions of songs) and access violent images, video clips and online games, with the click of a mouse.

Murder is a staple of the Web site "newgrounds.com," which features crude animated movies of celebrities being degraded and killed. A 2005 Media Awareness Network (MNet) survey revealed that "newgrounds" was the fifth most popular site for students in Grades 4 to 11. Around one third (28%) of the top 50 favourite sites listed by kids in the survey contain material that is violent.

Violent 'gore' sites such as "gorezone.com" and "rotten.com," which feature real pictures of accident scenes, torture and mutilation are also popular with students.

Many kids view gore sites as the online equivalent of harmless horror movies. However, the manner in which these sites combine violence with sexual imagery is disturbing. "Gorezone's" front-page disclaimer describes its images as "sexually oriented and of an erotic nature." It then warns viewers that they also contain scenes of death, mutilation and dismemberment.

Online hate

There are many forms of hate on the Internet, ranging from extreme racist sites to the cruel satire found on many popular kids' Web sites. Sites such as "uglypeople.com" may seem harmless, but they contribute to a kids' online culture where cruelty to others is considered acceptable.

It is not difficult to understand how some impressionable kids move from sites where people are mocked for their personal appearance to sites where minorities and homosexuals are attacked.

White supremacist and hate groups are increasingly turning to the Internet to target young people for recruitment. Hate mongers look for vulnerable youth who can be brought into their community through private chat rooms and e-mail, far away from the public eye.

These groups also use hateful music to entice young people to their cause. When kids surf the Net for music, they can easily come across sites that sell hate music, or even make it available for free.

Some hate sites have areas specifically designed for young children. The kids' page of the official Ku Klux Klan site offers homework help and advice for talking to your parents about racial superiority, in case they "just don't get it." Other sites give the appearance of being legitimate by offering harmless activities and crafts and links to respected kids' sites.

Hate sites often hide keywords in their pages that can be picked up by search engines. Some of the keywords on one white supremacist site for women are children, toys, art, games and fun. If someone enters one of these words into a keyword search engine, this site will turn up in the results.

The purpose of a hate site isn't always readily apparent. For example, at first glance, "martinlutherking.org" appears to be a tribute to the American civil rights leader. In fact, it is a hate site created by a white supremacist organization.

Hate groups often cite free speech in defense of their activities. The Web site of the Canadian Association for Free Expression appears to be concerned with civil liberties, yet it promotes the right to discuss racist immigration policies. For inexperienced young people, such information on deceptive hate sites can easily be taken at face value and not fully understood.

Tips for parents

Parents must protect young children from hateful content on the Internet. They must also teach older kids how to think critically about online content.

• Learn everything you can about the Internet and what your kids are doing online. Ask them to show you where they go online and what they like to do. Keep the lines of communication open so your kids will feel comfortable coming to you for help if they stumble across anything disturbing online. In research conducted by MNet in 2005, 82 per cent of Grade 7 to 11 students said they have never discussed hate sites or racist sites with their parents.
  
  
• Create an online agreement, with input from your kids. The agreement should have clear guidelines for where they can go on the Internet and what they can do. Findings from MNet's 2005 survey show that risky online behaviour is greatly reduced in homes with Internet rules. For example, kids in Grades 8 to 9 are twice as likely to go to inappropriate sites when there is no house rule against this activity.
  
  
• Monitor and supervise your children's Internet use. Generally, children under 10 do not have the critical thinking skills to surf the Net alone. It's a good practice to keep connected computers in a highly visible area, not in your child's room.
  
  
• Teach your kids from an early age about media violence. Young people need to learn to respect others and to respond appropriately to violent media. Talk to them about real violence and its consequences, and discourage media that portray killing or pain as entertainment.
  
  
• Educate your kids about online hate. Young people will better be able to recognize and avoid hateful content if they are taught the strategies hate mongers use and the history of racism. Help them to identify hateful content and symbols on Web sites; for example: swastikas, derogatory references to race or sexual orientation, and cartoon depiction of various ethnic and racial groups.
  
  
• Filters and blockers are largely ineffective at protecting kids from hateful content. Instead parents must help equip kids with filters in their heads so they will learn to recognize hate. In 2005, MNet asked Grade 7 to 1 per cent students what Internet-related subjects they would like to learn about in school. The top choice, at 68% of respondents, was "How to tell if information you find on the Net is true or not".
  
  
• Direct your kids to anti-racism youth Web sites such as Tolerance.org and the Racism.Stop It! site for the Canadian government's March 21 Day Against Racism.
  
  
• If you stumble across hateful content on the Internet, report it to the appropriate Internet Service Provider (ISP). You can contact your own ISP and ask for help in locating the host of the offensive content. You should also report online hate to your local police department.