A few years ago, a 13-year-old girl in the UK was invited on a date by someone she met in an internet chatroom. She accepted to meet the ‘14-year-old boy’ but before going out she told her parents and asked them to accompany her on condition that they kept a healthy distance away. That decision may have saved her life because the teenager she was supposed to meet was a 50-year-old with a history of attempts to molest young girls.

This 13-year-old was lucky, but others were not.

The internet is a marvellous tool, but it can, and is, used for all the wrong reasons. This example should make parents and educators aware that although children should be given access to the internet, its usage must be strictly monitored. Last week the National Statistics Office released the results of a survey on children’s use of the internet and the results are shocking.

In some cases children as young as seven have been invited out on blind dates by strangers they met in a chatroom. What is worrying is that a large percentage of those going on blind dates are primary school children – nearly three-fourths of the boys and 60 per cent of students in Years 4-6 said they met three or more persons they chatted with.

Twenty-one per cent of students went on a blind date, and of these 35.5 per cent were aged between seven and 13. “It is extremely worrying that a large percentage of children go out on blind dates after chatting with strangers they meet on the internet,” Commissioner for Children Sonia Camilleri said last week.

It certainly is.

This is happening even though parents and teachers warn children of the perils of chatting with strangers online. But warnings are not enough. Internet usage has to be monitored. Today, the majority of IT administrators in schools block access to many sites, but not necessarily chat rooms.

However, the real problem is at home. Not all parents are computer literate. In some cases, the children are so good that they hoodwink their parents into believing they are doing one thing, such as doing research for a school project, while they are chatting with friends. Parents said that 92 per cent of the time their children spent on the internet was for educational purposes. But then only 67 per cent of students said they used the internet for their studies.

This indicates that parents may be too trusting of their children. Tempt a child to look at what is forbidden or to spend hours chatting with strangers and he or she will do it. Even greater is the temptation to accept to go out on a date with a complete stranger.

Not all parents are up-to-date with technology. In fact, 66 per cent of parents and guardians with internet access at home do not know that internet-filtering software existed. How may parents know the difference between MSN Messenger and an MIRC chat room?

There are three ways to tackle the problem. Stating the obvious, parents should never allow their young children to meet strangers they meet on the internet unless they know who the person is – and seven-year-olds should not be going out on their own.

Parents should have a better understanding of how the internet works as well as those areas that children most frequently visit. There must be an element of trust between parents and the children but the latter are easily lured into areas they shouldn’t be in. That is why parental guidance and regular monitoring is necessary. The MyWeb courses offered by the Industry, Investment and IT Ministry should also focus on educating parents on the dangers of internet use.

Internet providers are also in a position to guide parents when they subscribe to have internet access and they should be encouraged to give advice to parents on how children can be protected from harmful influences on the net.

Ultimately, parents have the last say, but they must realise that the internet is a great learning tool, but is also a great source of temptation to youngsters. With a little effort, parents and teachers can prevent similar stories to the one described above from happening in Malta.