Love nuggets: Valentines and keeping track of internet activity

The first computer my parents brought home was a beast of a machine. They were no strangers to the budding world of technology, seeing how it was already changing how everyday business was conducted in the mid-90s, but for me, just a kid in a rural school system, seeing a computer was a rare treat. Only rich people, or dare I say, nerds, had one at home.

Suddenly, it seemed I was both. We had a formal dining room in our double-wide that was outfitted with a desk to support the massive CPU tower and bulky monitor. My brother, who has always been smarter than me, showed me how to navigate the Windows operating system. Later on, I would learn about the Internet. Trusted with the password for the dial-up connection, I was instructed never to visit the Internet without permission.

I do miss the old Internet. Back then, it was a bit like the wild west. Anyone who bothered to learn a few lines of code could make a webpage on any subject, and there was little anybody could do about it. Of course, this led to copyright infringements, data piracy and the dissemination of wrong information, but there weren’t enough people in the world logging in to cause a problem … yet.

We all know how the story goes. Now, the Internet is just a never-ending advertisement to the backdrop of people lying on social media. But we have created a world where you can’t live without it. You can’t work. You can’t shop. You can’t be entertained. Not unless you have a high-speed connection. Getting a quality education has proven no different, and now students, far younger than I was when I laid eyes on that old PC, must be tech-savvy to get anywhere in this world.

Whether or not this is for the good or ill of society is much debated and will be as long as there are social media platforms to argue with strangers on. But that’s not the point. The point is that the Internet is everywhere, and kids have to have access to it.

So, like any good parent, I set limitations to just how deep my kids can go into the World Wide Web and monitor their online activity like the best CIA spooks. I receive a weekly traffic report of my children’s computer habits via email. I see the amount of time they stare at the screen, what web pages they visit and even what is typed into search engines.

Unlike the CIA, I warned my son and daughter that I have eyes everywhere and would know what they are up to. Most of the info is banal, school-related things that are nothing to be concerned with. Occasionally, a shopping site will make the list or search for a new toy or video game. I’ve never seen anything to make me raise an eyebrow until now.

This week, the report included a flagged and blocked search. During his day at school, my son searched the term “love nugget.”

What is this? I thought, glancing over the report. Is this some new slang? That afternoon, I asked him what a love nugget is and why he searched for it. The answer was innocent enough: At Valentine’s, you can buy heart-shaped chicken nuggets.

I took his word for it, but the next morning, I searched it for myself, and sure enough, you can buy heart-shaped chicken nuggets. I know what someone’s getting for Valentine’s Day.

HHJ News