The Bleeding Edge

The Internet is dangerous for children. You know the lurid tales. One in five
children online have been approached by a sexual predator. There are more than
50,000 predators online at any time. Children can easily find pornography on
the Net without even looking for it. Nice stories, but they are mostly just
that. The Internet is inherently no more dangerous than anywhere else, and the
real threat to children — with a modicum of parental guidance —
is minimal. If you are interested, you can find a better analysis of this by
Benjamin Radford, editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine, online at www.livescience.com/othernews/060516_predatorpanic.html.

• There is a huge racial “digital divide” in America.
  That would come as a shock to the millions of black, Hispanic and Asian families
  who use the Internet nearly every day. The most recent data from the Pew Internet
  and American Life Project shows that English-speaking Hispanics and Asians
  lead use of the Internet in America, while use by black families is closing
  rapidly. Does this mean there is no “divide” at all? No. The data
  clearly shows that among those who are not literate in English, there is a
  massive chasm. The divide isn’t based on race; it is based on illiteracy.
• America is lagging behind other nations in use of the Internet.
  This is a more complicated myth, because it all hinges on what you call “lagging
  behind.” A whopping 77 percent of Americans have Internet access at
  home, but some other countries do have a larger online population or more
  broadband connections. But these countries tend to be small, with populations
  centered in a few urban areas, unlike the United States with its 3.5 million
  square miles with which to contend. These small countries are easier to wire,
  and in many cases can use cheaper technologies. In deployment of fiber —
  the Internet of the future — we enjoy a solid and growing lead.
• The Internet is tax-free. Okay, most accountants don’t
  fall for this old saw, but you’d be amazed at how many others do. The
  reality is that online companies are not presently required to collect sales
  taxes for every transaction. The tax hasn’t gone away; you’re
  supposed to keep track of the purchases and remit the sales tax yourself.
  And local governments are becoming increasingly aggressive about going after
  those who don’t.
• The Internet began as a simple and peaceful academic network
  where everyone got along and treated each other with respect. Before we hold
  hands and sing “Kumbayah,” let’s just point out that the
  Internet has, since its inception, been a chaotic jumble of interconnected
  networks where it was common to find power struggles, jealousy, e-mail flame
  wars, bitter accusations and acrimony. We like to think otherwise for the
  same reason we think of the Fifties as “the good old days.”

There are certainly more myths. Like the idea that you can be anonymous online
(You can’t. It’s getting easier to track you online every day, especially
if you are breaking the law). Or the idea that everything you say online is
protected free speech. Or that the Internet is a reliable way to communicate.
Myths arise from a lack of understanding. For many Americans, the onset of this
technology and its rapid emergence as a key consumer product have been difficult
to grasp effectively. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the Internet
is so new that we don’t have the same kinds of tools used to understand
most industries. For example, no one is able to say how much of the nation’s
Gross National Product is attributable to the “information economy,”
or even how many people are employed in Internet-related jobs.

But as information is slowly gathered and the Internet matures, we will see
corresponding changes in the ways we use it, how we safeguard it and how we
perceive it. 

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Mr. McClure is a consultant and widely published writer on technology issues.