Internet Safety

We insist our children wear seatbelts in cars, helmets when they ride their bicycles and teach them not to talk to strangers.  What do we teach our children about Internet Safety? Installing filters and monitoring software helps, but those safety devices are no replacement for our own vigilance and talking to our children about dangers on the Internet.
A 2006 study by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in conjunction with the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes against Children Research Center found these frightening statistics:

• 34% of youth Internet users saw sexual material they did not want to see.
• There has been an increase in the number of youth Internet users encountering unwanted exposure to sexual material and online harassment, but a decrease in unwanted sexual solicitation.
• Online harassment has increased 9%
• 61% of teens (13-17) have a personal profile on a social networking site such as MySpace, Friendster, or Xanga.
• 40% of teens reported that they will reply to someone they don’t know on the Internet.
• 18% of those will tell an adult
• Majority of teens and tweens see the Internet as a safe place to socialize.
• Teens who talk to parents also ignore messages from unfamiliar people

The Internet is a useful and educational tool bringing information to your fingertips.  However, much of the content is not appropriate for children. Children could be targets of sexual predators, cyber bullies and other types of harassment.  Sexual predators lurk in chat rooms looking for children.  They make contact with children that seem vulnerable by befriending those who seem to need to talk about problems. Some predators boldly send travel money or bus tickets to “help” children escape their homes and problems.

Why do children so often become victims of crime on the Internet?

• Children are easy prey
• Immaturity, desire for attention and affection and lack of caution.
• They are taught to obey adult demands and lack knowledge to discern the appropriateness of those demands. Curiosity about certain “forbidden” subjects and the desire to avoid “tattling” keep children from telling parents and guardians.

Why would a teenager form a relationship with someone online?

• High parent-child conflict(nagging, yelling, lack of parental involvement, parental apathy)
• Depression, victimization and troubling life events

What can parents do to keep their kids safe on the Internet?

• Have clear simple easy-to read house rules posted on or near the monitor.
• Look at monitoring and filtering programs from your online service provider
• Read a web site’s privacy policy before giving any personal information.
• Websites for children are not permitted to request personal information without a parental consent. 
• Talk to your children about what personal information and privacy
• Talk to your children about the dangers of meeting strangers offline
• Teach your children not to respond to offensive or dangerous email or chats.
• Report dangers communication to local law enforcement.
• Do not delete offensive email, until police department sees it.
• Use child-friendly search engines when completing homework.  AISD students are taught to use these resources and links are provided on school and district web pages.
• Monitor your children’s emails and chats
• Internet accounts should be in the parents’ name.
• Children screen names should be gender neutral with no identifiers that the user is a child.
• Talk to your children about what to do if they see something that makes them feel uncomfortable. Emphasize that it is not their fault if they see something upsetting.  Remind them to tell an adult when something online bothers them.

AISD is committed to the safety of all students.  Next month we will discuss safe alternative provided by the district. 
The best thing parents and teachers can do to keep our students safe is to keep the lines of communication open. Vigilance and awareness of where your child is and who they are with is the best deterrence to online crime.

Information taken from Netsmartz, a project of the National Coalition for Missing and Exploited Children.  http://www.netsmartz.org/safety