Internet safety presentation for parents and community used in the Lowndes County Schools, Valdosta, Georgia.

1. Internet Safety Al RowellDirector of Technology, Lowndes County Schools First…Take A Deep Breath…..

2. Be reasonable and set reasonable expectations Communicate with your child. Discuss your values and standards Keep the computer in a public area of the house Set rules for Internet use when you are not home Be aware of their online profiles and who their online friends are General Internet Safety Guidelines

3. Use safe, bookmarked sites Use Nettrekker. [Available to students of Lowndes County Schools] Browse with a parent Communicate only with known friends If something bad or uncomfortable appears, turn off the monitor and tell an adult. [And parents, do not over-react or blame the child!] Younger Children

4. Allow freedom to explore new sites, but focus on your standards. Talk to your child about what sites are appropriate and why Introduce safety guidelines as appropriate for your child’s development Restrict communications to known friends and well-managed anonymous sites [VMK, Nick.com, imbee.com, Club Penguin] Monitor Older children (but still pre-teen)

5. Be aware of the content of your child’s online profile and insist that it is private. Have open discussion about their sexual interests and the dangers of chatting about sex online, especially with strangers. Set expectations about how they treat other people online, and keep communications open so they will tell you if they have problems with others online. Be wary of free file-sharing programs: Bit-Torrent, iMule, Limewire, and more.. And your teens….

6. Myth 1. One in 7 youths have been targeted online by a sexual predator. Myth 2. Internet predators pretend to be youths and hide their intention prior to an abduction. Myth 3. Having a profile on MySpace or other social-networking site places youths at risk. Avoid Internet Predator Hysteria

7. One in seven youths reported a request to talk about sex, but most were from other youths. Two-thirds said they did not see the solicitation as serious Almost all responded by blocking the solicitor, leaving the site, or telling the person to stop. BUT 1 in 25 did receive an “aggressive” solicitation including attempts to meet offline. Unwanted solicitations online

8. Only 5% of predators pretended to be youths Almost all tell their victims that their interest is sexual 73% of the victims voluntarily met with the predator more than once Predators rarely hide their intent

9. Youths with online profiles were no more likely to have had an aggressive sexual solicitation than youths who did not. Interviews with 400 police organizations did not turn up one stalking-abduction based on information posted on social-networking sites – “Online ‘Predators’ and Their Victims.” American Psychologist. Feb-March 2008. Youths should still be cautious about what they post online Social networking

10. Some teens do not make good choices[Terms of use require that users be at least 13] Many parents are not paying sufficient attention Dangerous adults are attracted to environments where teens make bad choices and parents are inattentive Nancy Willard – A Briefing for Educators: Online Social Networking and Youth Risk Social Networking Concerns

11. Do not pretend to be older than you are Use privacy settings on profiles Avoid posting personal contact, provocative, embarrassing information or picturesVideo: Bulletin Board Do not engage in cyberbullying Avoid excessive time online Do not meet online friends without a parent Social Networks Safety Tips for Teens

12. Most Internet sex offenders, in fact, do not target young children by posing as another youth, luring children to meetings, and then abducting or forcibly raping them. Instead, most online sex offenders target teens and seduce victims into sexual relationships. The teens most vulnerable to online sex offenders have histories of abuse, family problems, and tendencies to take risks both on- and off-line. Crimes Against Children Research Center. http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/ 12 Online "Predators" and Their Victims

13. ..in spite of public concern, the authors found that adolescents’ use of popular social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook do not appear to increase their risk of being victimized by online predators. Rather, it is risky online interactions such as talking online about sex to unknown people that increases vulnerability, according to the researchers. http://www.apa.org/releases/sexoffender0208.html 13 The Greatest Risks to Teens

14. Posting personal information online, 56% of youth Internet users Interacting online with unknown people, 43% Having unknown people on a buddy list, 35% Using the Internet to make rude and nasty comments to others, 28% Sending personal information to unknown people met online, 26% 14 Patterns of Risky Online Behavior

15. Downloading images from file-sharing programs, 15% Visiting X-rated sites on purpose, 13% Using the Internet to embarrass or harass people youths are mad at, 9% Talking online to unknown people about sex, 5% Wolak, Janis, David Finkelhor, and Kimberly J. Mitchell and Michele L. Ybarra. “Online ‘Predators’ and Their Victims: Myths, Realities, and Implications for Prevention and Treatment.” American Psychologist Feb-March 2008. Crimes Against Children Research Center. http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/amp632111.pdf 15 Patterns of Risky Behavior

16. The more high risk behaviors, the greater the likelihood of a youth being solicited sexually Of Internet users age 10-17, 15% were high risk—communicating online with unknown people and engaging in at least 4 other risky behaviors. 16 Risks of Aggressive Sexual Solicitation

17. Avoid descriptions of Internet risks that focus on deception and violence Talk to your youth frankly about how adults online can evoke and exploit sexual feelings Focus prevention more on interactive aspects of Internet use and less on posting personal information Be aware of patterns of risky behavior. 17 Prevention

18. Cyber bullying is defined as: threats or other offensive behavior sent online to a victim or sent or posted online about the victim for others to see. (Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor et al., 2006). Can be in form of email, text message, IM, or posting on a social networking site from someone who is threatening to cause physical harm. It might be rumors posted on an online profile or on a fake profile, or otherwise spread online for others to see. Cyberbullying

19. The Centers for Disease control report 9%-35% of youths report being embarrassed, harassed, or threatened by electronic means. 13 states have cyberbullying laws, with California most recently enabling schools to suspend or expel cyberbullies Incidence of Cyber Bullying

20. Case of Megan Meier. Sarah Drew, her mother Lori, and Ashley Grills created a Myspace profile to manipulate and humiliate the 13-year-old who later hanged herself. Lori Drew was convicted on three misdemeanor accounts of unauthorized access. Case of Ryan Patrick Halligan. Ryan was bullied at school, and then embarrassing rumors were spread about him online. A girl pretended to be interested in him online but shared his instant messages to humiliate him. Another online youth encouraged his suicide. Cyberbullying and its Effects

21. Don’t post info others could use against you Don’t retaliate Save any evidence Response options Tell the person to stop Ignore or block the user Communicate with the parents of the user Talk to school officials Contact an attorney or law enforcement Cyberbullying Responses

22. Communicate openly with your child, browse together, and learn from each other Be careful about disclosing personal information online Explain that some adults will take advantage of young people’s desire for relationships, affection, and more. Set rules and discuss your values. Be the Parent! Things to Remember

23. NetSmartz from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children http://www.netsmartz.org Crimes Against Children Research Center http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/ Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use http://csriu.org/ Prevent Cyberbullying and Internet Harrassmenthttp://www.cyberbully411.com Resources

24. www.delicious.com/locotechfor links to online references used in this presentation and more! For more information

25. I will turn off my computer monitor right away and tell a trusted adult if anything makes me feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused. I will tell my parents or guardian if anyone online asks me my name, my address, my telephone number, or the name and location of my school. I will tell my parents or guardian if anyone online asks to meet me in person. I will not use rude or mean language on the Internet. From netsmartz.org Internet Safety Pledge for Grades K-2

26. I will talk with my parents or guardian so that we can set up rules for going online. The rules will include the time of day that I may be online, the length of time I may be online, whom I may communicate with while online, and appropriate areas for me to visit while online. I will not break these rules or access other areas without their permission. I will tell a trusted adult if I come across anything that makes me feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused. I will not download anything from anyone without permission from my parents or guardian. Internet Safety Pledge for Grades 3-6

27. I will never share personal information such as my address, my telephone number, my parents' or guardian's work address/telephone number, or the name and location of my school without my parents' or guardian's permission. Internet Safety Pledge for Grades 3-6

28. I will never respond to any messages that are mean or in any way make me feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused. If I do get a message like that, I will tell a trusted adult right away so that he or she can contact the online service. And I will not send those kinds of messages. I will never meet in person with anyone I have first “met” online without checking with my parents or guardian. If my parents or guardian agrees to the meeting, it will be in a public place and my parents or guardian must come along. Internet Safety Pledge for Grades 3-6