Arizona’s Internet Safety Is Horrific. Is Your Child Safe?

When I was a child, the internet was a place. Linked forever to the three year old desktop my family had in our computer room. You want to surf the web? Go to the internet room.

These days, it's an all encompassing entity, taking over every facet of our lives like a parasite. Kids these days are raised in the cold embrace of an internet that actively seeks to take advantage of them.

Arizona's struggling with that.

Arizona's Abysmal Internet Safety

A recent study by Cloudwards looked at every state's internet safety, focusing on Minors across the state, as they're the most likely to reap negative consequences from unrestricted internet access. The study was broken into three categories:

• Online Crimes and Threats
• Cyberbullying Prevelance
• Cyberbullying Legislation
• Mental Health Support

When looking at all of these, Arizona's internet safety comes in at 42nd in the country, with a miserable score of 68.46. In fact, our Legislation being ranked at #20 brings us up a lot. Every other measurement for the state comes in at 45th or lower.

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Read More: Arizonans Aren't Happy Here

What Does This Mean?

Normally, a stat this bad would warrant massive legal changes, but as we've just seen, the legislation isn't the problem, so what is? The largest culprit is mental health support, of which we come in at 47th. Fixing this fixes the whole problem.

By raising awareness and support for those who need it, we can lower the rate of cyberbullies and/or cyberthreats, while also teaching the youth how to avoid these people, and what to do if encountered.

For the time being, ensure that your children know how to safely surf the web, and know the warning signs of bad apples they may meet. Talk with them, and encourage open conversation, so that you can keep an eye out.

[Cloudwards]