Teenagers' Internet Socializing Not a Bad Thing
Pat BoyEs
I came across the story “Teenagers’ Internet
Socializing Not a Bad Thing” in The New York Times. This
study was funded by the MacArthur Foundation. To read the
complete story visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/us/20internet.html.
"Good news for worried parents: All those hours their teenagers
spend socializing on the Internet are not a bad thing, according
to the MacArthur Foundation."
"The
study, part of a $50 million project on digital and media
learning, used several teams of researchers to interview
more than 800 young people and their parents and to observe
teenagers online for more than 5,000 hours."
Lewin,
Tamar. “Teenagers’ Internet Socializing
Not a Bad Thing.” New York Times on the Web. 19
Nov. 2008.
http://www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/snssafety.pdf
Youth and the Internet: Practical Guide
Submitted by Jerry Newman
The
Future of Children
Nancy Willard, Director of the Center
for Safe and Responsible Internet Use, recently addressed the
topic of internet safety at a Princeton University forum geared
toward parents.
Willard's message
was simple – the internet is here,
kids will use it, so parents need to set clear guidelines
for proper use based on a child's age and maturity.
To help parents navigate cyberspace with their teens, Willard
created this practical guide “Social
Networking Safety” A
Guide for Parents. Professionals may also find
this useful and may reproduce and share it. In addition,
Willard plans to make a narrated presentation available next
fall.
Additional resources are available at http://csriu.org including
Willard's two recent books for sale: Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats:
Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Cruelty, Threats,
and Distress; and Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens, Helping
Young People Use the Internet Safety and Responsibly.
The Princeton forum was held in conjunction with the release
of the most recent Future of Children volume, Children
and Electronic Media (Vol. 18, No. 1). The volume focuses
on how common forms of electronic media influences the wellbeing
of children and adolescents. Accompanying the journal is
an Executive
Summary and a Policy
Brief.
Internet Safety Night
Internet
Safety Night is a nationwide event that brings information
and resources to students, parents and members of the community
to help us all stay safer online. We talk about online predators,
cyber-bullying, identity theft and other Internet-related
issues. The goal is for communities to pull together local
experts and resources — students, parents, teachers,
law enforcement and community members — to begin a
discussion about the importance of Internet safety. These
local discussions, occurring simultaneously all around the
country, then connect to the national host site in Columbia,
Mo. for the featured speakers and other resources and tools
that families can use to stay safe. Participants at any of
the local events can see, hear, ask and answer questions
in real time with participants at any of the other sites!
More details and information can be found at http://besafe.more.net/isn,
We need you to host a connecting event! It is so easy to
participate, and the impact can be so profound. Here's how
you can get involved.
- Location:
Select an event location that has either an Internet-connected
computer with projector or videoconferencing equipment
and can host the number of people you think are likely
to attend. E-mail isn@more.net with
your location, and we’ll post your location on
our events list.
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SMRT 4U Campaign
Urges Youth to Type Smart and Post Wisely Online
http://www.2smrt4u.com./2smrt4utips.html
E-mail Safety Tips
3/27/07 - Joy Faerber
E-mail's usefulness is under attack because of spam and
spam scams (also known as phishing). Read on to find out
how to defend yourself and your teen against some of the
hazards of e-mail.
• Choose a safe e-mail name that doesn't
give away personal information.
- Pick something that doesn't help identify or locate
you. For example, SusieDoe_14_small_town@google.com.au
reveals enough for someone to find Susie-her name, age,
and small town in Australia .
- Avoid using
flirtatious names like "2sexy4U" or "I_like_handcuffs" which
may cause unwanted attention and expose you to greater
risk.
• Don't share sensitive personal information
in e-mail.
- Never share passwords, social security number, credit
card information, and the like.
- Pay attention if you use an automatic e-mail signature.
This is a handy feature for friends because it typically
provides your full name, address, and phone numbers.
But if it's inserted automatically in all your e-mail
responses, you might unwittingly reveal more information
than you intended with people you don't know.
• Consider who you want to e-mail with. Some
people only want to send or receive e-mail with close friends
and family; others use it much more openly. Decide what
you are comfortable with and set appropriate limits. Remember,
just because someone sends you an e-mail doesn't mean you
need to receive it. Block messages from specific senders,
or restrict your e-mail from anyone not specifically on
your contact list.
• Think twice
before you open attachments or click links in e-mail-even
if you know the sender. Sending
photos, documents, and links in e-mail is an easy and
convenient way to share with others, but the bad guys
can use these to slip spam and viruses onto your computer.
- If you don't know the sender, delete the message; if
you do know the sender, double-check that an attachment
or link is safe to open. If you can't confirm, your best
bet is delete the message.
- If anyone sends you inappropriate material, report
it. Don't shut down the computer; instead turn off the
monitor and walk away. Tell your parents, your ISP, and
the police, if appropriate.
• Don't be fooled by phishing. Be
very skeptical if you receive an e-mail that looks like
it is from your bank or other trusted company that asks
you to verify or re-enter sensitive personal or financial
information through e-mail, a Web site they direct you
to, or a phone number they provide. It is quite likely
a scam. It's better to type in your own link to the bank
or company, or look up the phone number yourself.
• Avoid typing sensitive information
into a public computer. This includes your name
and phone numbers, account numbers and passwords, or
home or e-mail addresses. An industrious thief might
install a kind of spyware that records your every keystroke
for the crook. Never select the feature that automatically
logs you on to e-mail when you start the computer, or
accept a "Remember My Password" option.
• Be cautious about meeting in person
someone you know only through e-mail. Everything
someone tells you about themselves and their motivation
for meeting you may be completely true - or none of it
could be. They may feel like a close friend, but they
are still a stranger. If you decide to meet someone,
never go alone make sure others know where you're going,
and have your cell phone handy.
• Consider what you're saying and sharing
in e-mail and how you would feel if the information was
shared. Anything you say in e-mail can be forwarded
to others.
• Report harassment or bullying. As
in real life, this is unacceptable behavior and in some
cases can be illegal. Report harassment or abuse to your
internet service provider.)
• Help protect children using e-mail.
- For younger children, use a service that allows you
to limit your child's contacts (so they can only e-mail
people you both know) and allows you to monitor who they're
talking to.
- With teens, have a discussion about who they communicate
with and what they talk about. Set boundaries that match
your family's values and their age, reassessing these
boundaries periodically as they mature. Caution them
not to list their e-mail addresses publicly, or respond
to e-mail from strangers; if they wouldn't tell the person
their street address, they may well not want to give
their online address.
(Adapted
from “Look Both Ways – How to Keep
Your Family Safe on the Internet” by Linda Criddle
Website: http://look-both-ways.com )
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What
is “Blogging”
2/12/07--Joy Faerber, WSU
Simply put, blogs
(short for Web logs) are online journals. Just as in any journal,
the blog owner (or blogger) can speak out on any subject he
or she pleases in words or drawings. But unlike traditional
journals, entries can also include lists of favorite music
and books, maps, videos, links to Web sites, search tools,
quizzes and so on. Each
blog entry usually contains a title, a profile of the author,
a date stamp, photos and the poster's comments. Another
key difference is anyone can visit a blog and comment on
what the blogger is saying.
A blog is a great way to express yourself and broadcast
your opinions. Unfortunately, public blogs are also used
by criminals as a way to collect information that can be
used to steal your identity, rob your home, harass or physically
harm you, your children or your friends.
Eight safety tips for blogging
- Think carefully
about how public your blog is. The
more personal or identifiable the information you share,
the fewer people you should share it with. If you
want your blog to be public, only disclose what you want
the general public to know. Otherwise, keep your blog private.
Also, periodically review who has access to your site and
make changes if necessary. We all know that friends change
over time. For example, you drift apart or experience
a rift that breaks a friendship. How will your information
be treated then?
- Keep identifying details to yourself and close friends. A
good rule of thumb: if you wouldn't share the info on
your blog with a strange guy on a dark street, don't
post it for the public.
- Don't use your real name on your site (or anyone
else's either). Your friends already know the details
and its no one else's business. Create a nickname
or screen name that doesn't attract the wrong kind
of attention or help someone find you.
- Don't give information that puts you on the map.
Don't mention such details as your address, school,
where you work, even the town name if it's small.
- Don't reveal any information that gives away your
age such as your birth date or year of graduation.
- Be smart about
the photos you post. What does the picture show about
you? Does it attract the wrong kind
of attention or help someone find you?
- What's in the background? Does the photo show your
house number, a street sign, a license plate, a clear
landmark?
- Did you caption your photos with full names or
other identifying details?
- What's on your shirt? The name of your school,
sports team, or club? Your name?
- Who's in the picture? If it shows friends or family
members, you may be putting them at risk, too.
- Be careful about sharing your feelings in your blog.
You probably express feelings in your blog through other
ways than just writing. The poems you select, the music
you list, the pictures you post-all these tell a lot about
who you are and how you feel. A snapshot, too, can reveal
how you feel about yourself-proud of your body, lacking
self-confidence, sad, trying to look sexy or cool? All
of this is great information to a predator who's on the
hunt and who would be delighted to make you feel important
or special.
- Check out what your friends write about you. In their
blogs, they may be announcing that they'll miss you because
your family is going on vacation-and you may come back
to a burglarized house. Or maybe they're giving out your
address or real name so someone can find you. Check the
comments they leave on your blog, too, to make sure they
don't give away personal details.
- Be very cautious about meeting in person someone you
only know through blogging. Everything they've told you
about themselves and their motivation for meeting you may
be completely true - or none of it could be. They may feel
like a close friend, but they are still a stranger.
- If you think
there's a problem, report it immediately. No one has
the right to threaten or upset you. If
anyone (even someone you know) sends you something creepy,
says something scary, asks lots of personal questions,
or tries to meet you, report the problem. (If you're a
minor, talk to an adult you trust.) Every service should
make it easy to report abuse function; if your blogging
service doesn't, consider switching providers.
- Help your kids to blog safely. Young bloggers, particularly
teens, are at high risk if they make their blogs available
to the public instead of to a limited group of friends
and family. This is a time when teens are reaching out
for new identities, friends, and validation and are less
concerned about their overall safety making them relatively
easy targets for predators. To mitigate these risks:
- Talk frankly about what it takes to stay safer
when blogging; the points above are a great place
to begin.
- Periodically ask you child or teen to show you
what they are saying in their blog, what comments
they're getting, and so on.
A few more:
- Talk to your
family and friends about the kinds of information you're
willing to make public and what you'd rather keep private.
Everyone you interact with online needs to respect your
safety boundaries, and you need to respect theirs. Posting
information about others is not okay—in comments,
photos, and so on—unless they agree to share that
information. And not only should you ask permission, but
you should also make it clear who can see your site. In
the case of minors, you might need to get their parents'
permission as well.
- Make sure the blogging site you use has clear privacy
and security policies, has a simple way to report abuse,
and outlines how the site will respond to reports of it.
The site should also offer tools to help protect your safety
such as a way to control who has permission to see your
blog, the ability to block harassing users and to turn
on or off comments, and site monitors.
(Adapted from “Look Both Ways – How to Keep
Your Family Safe on the Internet” by Linda Criddle
Website: http://look-both-ways.com)
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