Hello, Maria here, chiming in with a few words to share how excited I am to have Brendon, the “Island Boy” of this blog, and my other half, share his expertise and wisdom on an area of our lives that’s super important but something I easily take for granted because of him. With summer break already here for some and soon to be here for others, I think the topic of internet safety is timely and relevant!
Are we Too Connected?
Today I walked around the house and counted all our screens.
I am currently at a conservative 11 screened devices regularly within eyesight, and a few odd others in drawers around the house. Sure enough, these are all, without exception, connected to the internet.
As a tech guy, I am an advocate for the abundance of educational, connective and entertaining information presented by internet access. Our children are growing up in an age where skills are acquired at an incredible pace, friendships can be enjoyed from across the planet in real time, and joy and diversion are in the most abundant and interesting formats ever imagined.
The opportunities presented to our children by this flat world are beyond what we could have ever conceived.
I am also keenly attuned to the abyss of harmful individuals and programs that want to use this connectivity to attack us, find vulnerabilities and take whatever they can with impunity. Those there are who would attack the sanctuaries of our homes, tear away our children’s innocence, and rob us of all they can.
As my young children grow, I worry about this. As an IT professional, I have a great home firewall. We are locked down from unwanted connections from the outside. But what do I do about the harmful content that is requested through my home devices?
I need a plan.
