The internet is a useful tool for everyone. It is a web of knowledge and information that is available at the click of a button. In many ways, it has replaced the use of books and has made research easier and faster. Although not all websites can be trusted to provide correct data, many of them do give users what they need at the click of a button.

The older generations will remember the time when they used to need updated encyclopedias in order to carry out school projects. Today, students can find this readily available and without too much hassle, making them “lazier”. All they have to do is search for a particular word or phrase, and there it is in front of them in a matter of seconds. They do not even need to type the information again; cut and paste and perhaps a change of font will do the trick.

But, as in anything else in life, the internet has its own flaws and dangers. You can use a knife to cut bread, and you can also use it to hurt someone. Likewise, the internet can be used properly or it can be used badly.

Today’s children probably know more than their parents in terms of technology, and this puts them a step ahead even when it comes to internet usage. However, children are still immature and many times do not understand that they could be in danger. Adults who have bad intentions sometimes take advantage of this.

The Commissioner for Children recently highlighted the fact that a service which is helping to fight internet child abuse is in danger of being wound up because the European Commission is not voting any money for it. The service is hanging by a thread and is being run by a number of volunteers who can spare a few hours a week.

The commissioner called upon the authorities to take action by finding the ways and the means how to continue the service.

The Malta Independent supports the commissioner’s idea, and goes further. The service should be available 24 hours a day. You never know when children are using the computer and may find themselves in difficulty.

Secondly, the service ought to be marketed and promoted more than it has been. Children should be informed in their schools about what they need to do if they are in trouble, and there should be posters in their schools, possible in each and every class, reminding them that they can just phone up 179 to get help.

Thirdly, the marketing campaign should also be widened to television stations and newspapers. Adverts promoting such a service could be aired during children’s TV programmes and on pages that some newspapers dedicate especially for children.

It is pertinent to point out that in just over 18 months ending last May, there were nearly 300 reports that were received on potentially illegal websites, with 261 of them regarding indecent material involving children.

Children should be taught that the internet can be as harmful as it can be useful. Chat-rooms are a potential trap for children who are not careful enough, and are often used by adults with sinister motives. Giving personal information or even posting photographs on the internet open gateways for adults whose intentions are to abuse children.

Parents have a big role to play in all this. For one thing, they should monitor what their children are doing while using the computer, and possibly even stop them from entering sites that are not suitable for children. They should also explain the potential harm that they could come across while surfing the internet.