Blocking internet access

[Rupie]

I am trying to restrict the use of the internet at my family home. Certain young members insist on being on social media sites, late into the night , during school nights. My router has the option for you to schedule when sites with chosen names can be accessed or not, and between what times. I just enter keywords and it works.

This works if family members use desktops or laptops but if anyone accesses sites, I have blocked, via an app on either an iphone, itouch or ipad, it doesnt. What details would I need to have and how do these access their servers ? do they use different ports etc.

This also begs the question of how much they access the internet, that we do knot know about and do not have any control over, but another time for that.

 

[Bear]

Some routers allow you to restrict access by time so you could totally knock them off the net. Note that this won't work for iPhones since they can use cellular data and of course if you have a neighbor with an unsecured WiFi close by they could use that.

 

[Alrescha]

In homes I have visited, all chargers are kept downstairs, far away from bedrooms. All devices are charged at night, and ready to go in the morning. Problem solved.

A.

 

[mripadmini]

They have grown up with social media, iPhones so whatever you decide to do they will find a way around it.

 

[ugcop]

In homes I have visited, all chargers are kept downstairs, far away from bedrooms. All devices are charged at night, and ready to go in the morning. Problem solved.

A.

I like this idea. I have fought these battles and putting the charger on my night stand with the rule the phone goes on the charger at 9PM school night and at (you pick the time) on weekends is the simple fool proof way.

 

[Rupie]

To be honest I can stop the internet access, quite easily, using most of the methods you have mentioned. I was trying to to stop storming into bedrooms taking items off teanagers, to avoid the usual rows. Except I am now intrigued by the way the apps access the internet and, as users how we can monitor and stop it, even for our selves.

 

[Alrescha]

One might consider this an educational opportunity. Teenagers are capable of understanding consequence. Let them text away until the wee hours of the night. Do make sure that they get up on time and go to school regardless of how miserable they feel. Point out that a little more sleep will make them feel a whole lot better, and that it is completely under their control. They might learn something and you do not have to holler in the middle of the night.

A.

 

[firewood]

For a more advanced technical solution, you could use wireshark, or other network traffic snooping tool, in conduction with your router to find out what connections these particular apps use when run, and then block those IP and/or port addresses.

But the Internet has been described as a fault-tolerant network that treats censorship as damage, and routes around it. Kids "found" internet access before their schools or homes were connected, and can still do that. So a moral/behavioral solution may be more likely to succeed than a technical one.

 

[Rupie]

One might consider this an educational opportunity. Teenagers are capable of understanding consequence. Let them text away until the wee hours of the night. Do make sure that they get up on time and go to school regardless of how miserable they feel. Point out that a little more sleep will make them feel a whole lot better, and that it is completely under their control. They might learn something and you do not have to holler in the middle of the night.

A.

Have you ever had teenage kids ??

 

[Alrescha]

.

 

[nightstalkerz]

Are they using data/3g on their iPhones? That doesn't pass through your router so you can't block anything.