Can internet chat rooms be dangerous?
The first and most important thing you need to realize about the Internet is that you can find anything and anyone on the Internet that you can find in the real world. The only difference is that in the Internet you have a greater deal of anonymity that you get in the real world. Can chat rooms be dangerous? Most definitely. Particularly channels that clearly are catering to younger children. Pedophiles go where the kids are, and that is just as true on the Internet as in the “real world”. Does that mean you should avoid all chat channels? Not at all. Just be aware of what you are doing and saying, and if you have small children, be sure to monitor their activity on the Internet. There are several programs, as I recall, that allow parents to track what their children are seeing and doing while on-line.
