Video has been rapidly gaining popularity on the Internet with our multimedia oriented teens. There are sites for posting videos such as Flickr, Google, MSN, and Yahoo videos, and YouTube as well as the social networking web sites such as MySpace and Facebook that allow users to post videos they have created. There are video podcasts and video chats. You can find videos on almost every subject- including video that you may not want your child to see. Even though video sites require posters to sign an agreement acknowledging the prohibition of obscene submittals, users can ignore the terms and post them anyway. Obscene videos are usually flagged and deleted very quickly but it is still very easy to stumble across inappropriate materials on many sites.
Video cameras in cell phones make instant video capture very easy and students easily post video to their social networking web site or to any of the popular video download web sites listed above. While there are many humorous, artistic, and educational videos available, please talk to your child about the appropriate use of video and webcams on the Internet. Webcams are wonderful for talking with Grandma and keeping in touch with loved ones but can be potentially dangerous in the hands of the wrong person.