Pupils watch porn on bus

BY BLAIR ENSOR

Children as young as 12 have watched "hardcore porn" on a cellphone on their way to school in Blenheim, according to a Marlborough woman.

Sheila Goldthorpe, of Okaramio, said a young boy recognised a friend had an internet-capable phone on a bus and looked up a porn site his older brother had shown him.

The downloaded footage was handed around the bus, Ms Goldthorpe said.

"It [the situation] opened my eyes," she said. "I didn't realise children had internet-capable phones and could so easily get pornography.

"Once they've looked at it they've got an image in their mind. They are never going to be innocent again."

Ms Goldthorpe was among the parents and students who turned out at Marlborough Girls' College last night to hear Australian Communication Media Authority senior education trainer Greg Gebhart talk about the pitfalls of cyberspace and how to stay safe online.

Mr Gebhart said many parents were unaware of the technology available at their children's fingertips, and mobile phones were a prime example.

However, there was no need to stop children going online if parents talked to them and made them take safety measures.

Social media sites such as Facebook were a major problem parents needed to be aware of, he said. Using privacy features on the site reduced the risk.

Teenagers wanted to be famous online and were prepared to share their information with everyone, including inappropriate pictures. Photos remained online indefinitely and could damage a person's reputation, affecting career, renting and education.

Adding strangers as friends was also dangerous and should be discouraged, he said.

Facebook had an age restriction of 13 but younger children could dodge it if they put a false age.

"We have not seen the consequences because it (social media) is so new.

We don't know the long-term effects."

Parents also needed to watch out for cyberbullying where children were harassed via text messages or nasty images of them were posted online, he said.

Children were often too scared to share bad cyber experiences because they did not want their parents to disconnect their mobile phone or internet.

"A lot of parents over-react. Do your best not to."

It was important parents collected evidence of cyberbullying by getting their children to save inappropriate messages and the senders' contact details.

Many teenage girls went online early in the morning when they were woken by friends texting and could not get back to sleep. He suggested plugging all family mobile phones in at a set place in the house at night.

For more information go to netsafe.org.nz.

- The Marlborough Express