More and more voices from the society are complaining about teenagers’ internet ethics. Undoubtedly, youngsters’ morals in cyberspace are far from satisfactory. Many adolescents misbehave themselves on the Net as they do not have to use their real identities. Apart from using foul language, uploading and downloading songs and movies are common among them. Some even intimidate their peers or download pornographic materials. Most teens believe it is fine to do so. In fact, their acts are not proper and may have violated the laws.
The problem with teens’ internet ethics stems from insufficient education in the area. Schools only occasionally or even rarely offer talks about morals in the cyber world. Teenagers are always absent-minded and forget the contents of the talks easily. When they leave the school and enter the Net at home, they are tempted to the wrongdoings again, like downloading songs. What’s more, parents do not teach their children about the internet ethics. They may be busy at work or simply ignorant of the subject too. How can the teens be aware of the problem?
Curiosity is another factor that drives adolescents to behave poorly in Cyberspace. This leads to teens’ exposure to pornography or other undesirable websites. Sex matters are still a taboo in Chinese society. Youngsters who wish to know more about them may turn their eyes to the screen. This explains why many young people continue to browse immoral websites.
Despite the worsening situation, there are still ways to improve teenagers’ internet ethics. Raising the awareness of teenagers about the importance of internet ethics is of top priority. This can be done through offering more education and promotion to young people. Schools should schedule regular lessons on moral matters to students, teaching them the aftermath of breaching of the laws online and importance of Net ethics. The government perhaps needs to publicize the message of proper behaviour online through the mass media more often so as to alert the teens to the problem. Legislation is also an alternative. The laws regarding uploading and downloading activities should be more clearer and tightened.
Parents also play an important role in guiding their children back to the correct path. They should be open-minded towards sex topics so that their children will not look for answers on the Net. They should also tell their children it is very important to abide by the laws in the Cyber World even though there might be no one monitoring them. On the other hand, teenagers should not just rely on others to solve the problem. They must also be co-operative and learn to appreciate the importance of internet ethics themselves. If not, all measures taken would be in vain.
In short, the problem of internet ethics among teenagers is worsening at the moment. However, I believe with the joint efforts of different parties, there will be a turnaround soon.