Question:

My girls, who are 9 and 11, are active webcam users. I wonder what experience you have with webcams, and whether you have some good advice.

Answer from Kids and Media’s advisor:

Webcams are fun tools when communicating with others, and the conversations get more personal and vivid. Parents should consider where to put the webcam in the house. At the same time it’s important to talk with children about what you should or shouldn’t do in front of a camera, and what to do if you have bad experiences. We recommend that children at primary school age chat with friends using MSN, where the user is in control over who is added to the address list. Children should know who owns the address before adding it. It’s also a good idea to disconnect the camera when it’s not in use. If the child downloads and shares music illegally on the net, they’ve participated in file sharing. In this case there is a technical possibility that others can enter into your child’s computer and control it, and for example activate their webcam. At worst, this might give someone access to private images without the person in front of the camera being aware of it.

Good luck.