Monitor web sites

Thomas_Holding

A friend has a teenage child who spends 20x longer on homework than needed.
This is causing them all to not have enough sleep.
My friend suspects this is because their child wastes a lot of time on the internet.
Any easy way that the home network can be monitored?
Normally she would not want to do this but the situation is getting really bad.

Jenni_D

There are ways and means of doing this, but it depends on the current network setup (make/model of router/switch) and/or the ability for the parent to install software on the child's devices.

Then there's the likelihood that anything the parent tries to implement the child will easily be able to circumvent.

The real solution is for the parent to have an open conversation with the child.

Thomas_Holding

Jenni_D said:

There are ways and means of doing this, but it depends on the current network setup (make/model of router/switch) and/or the ability for the parent to install software on the child's devices.

Then there's the likelihood that anything the parent tries to implement the child will easily be able to circumvent.

The real solution is for the parent to have an open conversation with the child.

Sadly teenagers are not always that reasonable.

flaneurs_lobster

What @Jenni_D said, the home network could be tied down or monitored as tight as you like (hell, just unplug the router) but then there's the mobile phone (and the other mobile phone). 

There's not really a tech solution to this (perceived) problem.

Jenni_D

flaneurs_lobster said:

There's not really a tech solution to this (perceived) problem.

Well, there is ... otherwise companies wouldn't invest so much money in network/cyber security ... but not within the realms of a normal domestic setting.

Thomas_Holding

flaneurs_lobster said:

What @Jenni_D said, the home network could be tied down or monitored as tight as you like (hell, just unplug the router) but then there's the mobile phone (and the other mobile phone). 

There's not really a tech solution to this (perceived) problem.

Video speed via mobile data is fortunately not that quick so it is wifi or no youtube!
Unpluging the router would stop research for homework and also cause problems with my work.

Jenni_D

So I go back to the first sentence of my first reply ... There are ways and means of doing this, but it depends on the current network setup (make/model of router/switch)

Some routers have the ability to set an access schedule based on the assigned IP address for specific connections. That's one way to do it ... but a tech-savvy teenager will get around that in minutes (if not seconds).

Thomas_Holding

Jenni_D said:

So I go back to the first sentence of my first reply ... There are ways and means of doing this, but it depends on the current network setup (make/model of router/switch)

Some routers have the ability to set an access schedule based on the assigned IP address for specific connections. That's one way to do it ... but a tech-savvy teenager will get around that in minutes (if not seconds).

Thanks I will tell my friend that.

Grey_Critic

In the days before Laptops and built in batteries I had a similar problem but quickly found a solution.

I used to turn the power off on the upstairs sockets - they quickly got the message.

RumRat

Thomas_Holding said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

What @Jenni_D said, the home network could be tied down or monitored as tight as you like (hell, just unplug the router) but then there's the mobile phone (and the other mobile phone). 

There's not really a tech solution to this (perceived) problem.

Video speed via mobile data is fortunately not that quick so it is wifi or no youtube!
Unpluging the router would stop research for homework and also cause problems with my work.

Do you not have 4G in your area? The majority of YouTube is watched via mobile phones these days.