Funding from the National Science Foundation in the 1980s .
eventually led to the Internet being opened to commercial traffic. .
Services provided over the Internet include the World Wide Web, electronic mail (the .
most popular service), Newsgroups, and Chat. For one computer to communicate with another .
computer on the Internet, both computers must be connected to the Internet. Connection to the .
Internet can come from commercial online services or through Internet service providers. .
Generally, home users connect to the Internet via the commercial online services over regular .
phone lines. Some of these services include Prodigy, CompuServe, and America Online. .
Businesses, universities, government agencies, and the like, often have direct connection to an .
Internet provider over high-speed digital lines. Some of these providers include Netcom and .
PSI.1 .
The number of adults online in the United States by the end of 1998 has been estimated .
as low as 44 million and as high as 80 million. 2 At the end of 1997, the number of children .
online was almost 10 million. It is estimated that by the year 2002, 45 million children will be .
online.3 While it is not clear how many these children have access to the Internet at home, it is .
clear what percentage of them have access at school. Currently, about 81.8% of all American .
schools have the Internet. It is estimated by the end of the 1998-1999 school year, about 95.9% .
of all American schools will be hooked up to the Internet.4 .
There are risks to a child that a parent should consider before allowing the child to .
access the Internet. Some of the risks include the following: .
1. Exposure to material that is sexual, hateful, or violent in nature and the possible .
encouragement of illegal or dangerous activities. .
2. The safety of a child and/or a child's family could be compromised by the child .
providing information or arranging to meet a person they have met over the Internet.