British internet safety experts have revealed "the ten words every parent should fear," ranking "emo" as number four, ahead of "hate," "depressed" and, um, "willy."
The report comes at the hands of nanny software maker Sentry, which calls emo a "worry word." It also follows a lot of negative press about the now goth-tinted, mascara-lined subculture, including reports last year of the anti-emo riots in Mexico and of an "emo suicide cult" that led to the death of a British teen.
Sentry doesn't go into great details on how the study compiled the rankings or why emo is so high on the list, simply stating the data comes from "extensive work in the U.S. and UK" that monitored which words parents were frequently blocking online.
In full, here's the press release, which again shows just how far emo is removed from genre pioneers like Promise Ring, Sunny Day Real Estate and Braid:
WEB WORRY WORDS: THE NEW THREAT TO OUR CHILDREN INTERNET SAFETY EXPERTS REVEAL THE TEN WORDS EVERY PARENT SHOULD FEAR
As children as young as five now use the internet without supervision, how can mums and dads be sure that their child is not taking part in conversations or messaging that will lead them into danger?
Research published today by internet safety experts Sentry Parental Controls reveal the ten most common words that parents are blocking their children (under 16s) from using or searching for in order to help keep their child safe from internet predators, exposure to inappropriate material or dangerous social networking groups.
The top ten words that parents are monitoring are:
1. Suicide
2. Alone
3. Dope
4. Emo
5. Bully
6. Depressed
7. Skinny
8. Breasts
9. Willy
10. Hate
The ten chosen worry words were drawn from Sentry's extensive work in the U.S. and UK looking at what words parents most frequently have to block on their home computers using the Sentry software. Blocked words then send an alert signal to parents when children use or are sent messages featuring these words.
While parents naturally worry about their children accessing explicit sex sites or finding out more about drugs, there are other far more subtle aspects of our children's behaviour - such as searching for skinny celebrities or taking an unusual interest in death - that should act as red flags for us to start talking to them about their concerns.
The report comes at the hands of nanny software maker Sentry, which calls emo a "worry word." It also follows a lot of negative press about the now goth-tinted, mascara-lined subculture, including reports last year of the anti-emo riots in Mexico and of an "emo suicide cult" that led to the death of a British teen.
Sentry doesn't go into great details on how the study compiled the rankings or why emo is so high on the list, simply stating the data comes from "extensive work in the U.S. and UK" that monitored which words parents were frequently blocking online.
In full, here's the press release, which again shows just how far emo is removed from genre pioneers like Promise Ring, Sunny Day Real Estate and Braid:
WEB WORRY WORDS: THE NEW THREAT TO OUR CHILDREN INTERNET SAFETY EXPERTS REVEAL THE TEN WORDS EVERY PARENT SHOULD FEAR
As children as young as five now use the internet without supervision, how can mums and dads be sure that their child is not taking part in conversations or messaging that will lead them into danger?
Research published today by internet safety experts Sentry Parental Controls reveal the ten most common words that parents are blocking their children (under 16s) from using or searching for in order to help keep their child safe from internet predators, exposure to inappropriate material or dangerous social networking groups.
The top ten words that parents are monitoring are:
1. Suicide
2. Alone
3. Dope
4. Emo
5. Bully
6. Depressed
7. Skinny
8. Breasts
9. Willy
10. Hate
The ten chosen worry words were drawn from Sentry's extensive work in the U.S. and UK looking at what words parents most frequently have to block on their home computers using the Sentry software. Blocked words then send an alert signal to parents when children use or are sent messages featuring these words.
While parents naturally worry about their children accessing explicit sex sites or finding out more about drugs, there are other far more subtle aspects of our children's behaviour - such as searching for skinny celebrities or taking an unusual interest in death - that should act as red flags for us to start talking to them about their concerns.
