Internet Censorship In The United States

The internet is seen as technological breakthrough for anyone how has used it. Shopping, News, entertainment, and access to instant knowledge, all at our finger tips. Although since the birth of the internet it has changed drastically. The internet now shows throngs of adult content with little to no regulation. There are predators searching through sites for victims. Tens of thousands of identities are a stolen monthly. Some argue that they don’t need the governments intervention on the web but if we as a people regulate tobacco, alcohol, and firearms with legislated laws applied by our governments to protect our youth and to assure responsible usage then the same should apply the internet.

The internet is a tool to be used by every,

and everyone that uses it typically has a login. So why not have our government strictly regulate it for everyone under the age of eighteen. The ISP’s cannot truly regulate the internet, so it falls upon our governing forces to take action. If done correctly the masses can continue to have privacy while using the internet. These actions will definitely create a much safer environment for our youth until they reach the age of eighteen and are responsible enough for its content.
With the raise of the internet comes the raise of cybercrime. Pedophiles scour children’s website looking to please their sick minds. During my research I came across a research article that I’ll quote, “It states that 83 percent of children between the ages of ten and fourteen spend more than an hour on the Internet each day exposing them to strangers in the web (Schultz, 2008)”. I even can across an article with even more shocking info that shows that 27 per cent of male children access pornography every week. Five per cent view it every day (Brown, 2012). This is very detrimental to their mental health. Some individuals have even turn to the internet into a surveillance tool for other crimes like robbery, and even murder. Unethical hackers steal millions of identities a year, ruining their victim’s life’s on a multitude of levels. On more than one occasion I have witnessed adolescence of thirteen, looking at web pages (Facebook)on the internet with adult content, even though there were adult content blockers installed. I’m not saying social media sites such Myspace, Facebook, or Snapchat is bad for youth but it to needs to be filtering as well, too much time spent on these sites can change their personality into sum shallow Hollywood diva. There has even been case’s where other juveniles have persuaded others into suicide. Prescription and illegal drugs run rampant on the black market, being sold all over the world on the dark internet. I don’t have children but I don’t need them to know that children need a nourishing environments without all the negative influence forced upon them from the internet.
The internet needs regulation in a manner that anyone over the age of eighteen could access the internet in its entirety.

Anyone under that age could only access a very strict, monitored, and knowledgeable substitute, this is what will be governed by our officials. It would be a great way to nationally monitor and update our education system to a higher global standard. China has a firewall that blocks many of the above problems involving adult content, but upset thousand as the feeling of privacy was ignored. The internet’s role in increasing freedom and of the ways in which its significance in terms of political freedoms has been increasingly hitched to corporate interest and the dominance of certain Internet platforms such as Facebook and Twitter (Joyce, 2015). I think this could be a great base for the creation of a network developed with our juvenile’s mental and physical health. When at the age of eighteen a digital key could let them access the full internet, good or

bad.
In our private families it’s usually the head of the house hold that should monitor the use of the network, but more than most times it isn’t being done.

Our governing forces should stand up and take charge! Now I admit that mistakes (prohibition) have been made in the past, but every government share this failure. The thing is, we as a people elect the government, and with our technological advances are no longer brutes of the old west. Our government is capable of regulating the millions of guns, tobacco and alcohols produced in the United States, even though many feel it’s a wasted effort. Many people think that our government will take away some of the freedoms the internet has provided, “The protection of free speech and the benefits of globalization in the form of an information society have been resilient organizing principles within recent debates over Internet regulation (Joyce, 2015).” Imagen if there wasn’t any kind of regulation or laws in place. This isn’t the first time the internet and safety have reach our governments ears. Even now there are politicians fighting for restrictions and regulations on the internet but in its entirety, this isn’t what we need. We need our governing powers to establish a network just for our children’s growing

minds.
With a safer place for children to learn and grow there will be great short and long term results. Many children and young adults try to imitate the images seen on the internet. With a strong system designed for them, all the negative personality traits learned from the internet can be diluted away. The internet is exposing children at an ever younger age to sexual content, imagery and ideas before they are emotionally or cognitively ready, which can interrupt the process of healthy sexual development (Brown, 2012). Through the monitoring mental instabilities can be diagnosed and treated immediately under the new system. Because teens can be so secretive during puberty, social insecurities and dangerous behaviors can be monitored. Along with the monitoring of our youth, they can be perfected from predators looking to harm them. Their identities won’t be stolen and destroyed for others financial gain. Young teens won’t buy drugs from internet sites located in other countries.
With a system that can constantly be updated, old text books with harmful outdated material can be ousted. Our public education system can return to schools and not day cares. Children will be able to learn anything that is appropriate for their ages, even through the ages of puberty. I can’t predict the future, but I do know if action isn't taken to protect our youth from the internet’s malnourishment and negative influences that our children’s children will be doomed along with the generations behind them. A garden is de-weed so a plant isn’t strangled, then water is given, once grown it will produce amazing fruit.
In 2016 the internet is grower ever larger and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. With information running rampant amongst all its users there needs to be some form of protection for our youth. If all of our citizens can’t be people happy with restricting the internet totally (for privacy reasons) there needs to be regulations for our youth. A child’s innocents can be kept until their mentality has reach adulthood. Just think of the world in a few generations where there are no crimes committed because of this life saving technology we call the internet.