Teen Internet Safety Guide

Almost all American children have access to the Internet. While the Internet can give children access to vast amounts of valuable information and entertainment it can also expose children to certain dangers. For example, children may come into contact with demeaning, racist, sexist, violent, hateful or false information. They may also view pornographic web sites, SPAM (unsolicited emails) containing obscene material, file swapping programs with inappropriate and sometimes mislabeled content, and other types of material potentially inappropriate for a child. Children may also encounter predators that lure victims through chat rooms, instant messaging, and social networking sites.

Understanding the Risks

Parents and guardians have a large role in accessing potential risks on the Internet and communicating those risks to their children. To communicated these risks effectively, a parent or guardian must understand the risks.

Legal and Financial

A child may do something that has negative, legal, or financial consequences, such as giving out credit card information or doing something that violates another person’s rights.

Exposure

Exposure to inappropriate material such as violent, sexual, or hateful content may leave a child confused, scared, or uncomfortable. All of the content on the Internet is equally accessible; websites about dinosaurs and websites featuring pornography are both a click away.

Physical Molestation

While online, a child might provide information or arrange an encounter with a stranger that could risk his or her safety or the safety of other family members.

Harassment

Cyber bullying is one of the most common risks. Cyber bullying can be perpetrated by individuals the victim knows or doesn’t know personally. The most common form is harassment.

Tips for Improving Internet Safety

Your children use the Internet to study, browse for information, socialize, or play games. This same environment is also filled with dangers. With a few Internet safety tips, your children’s online experience can be amazing!

Don’t Overshare

While you may be tempted to share those photos from a family vacation or birthday party, it is important to not overshare. Oversharing can reveal inappropriate amounts of information about your children. Predators can extract metadata such as locations from digital photos to stalk and prey on their victims.

Additionally, oversharing by your children, especially teens can lead to negative unintended consequences such as missed job offers or declined college applications. Remember once you post online, it can never be deleted entirely. Each and everyone of us leaves a breadcrumb trail of our presence on the Internet.

Set Limits

Children require clear boundaries and an understanding of the appropriate use of technology. Parents should be vigilant about their children’s behavior and consistent when enforcing rules.

Examples of rules include: Do not disclose personal information such as full name, address, phone number, social security number, etc.
No posting your picture on public sites of any kind
No chatting with or arranging face-to-face meetings with strangers.
Time limits.

Watch and Surf Smart

Use filters to limit the types and kinds of video content your children can consume to help avoid access to violent, sexual, or other inappropriate content.
Use tools and filters to restrict access to sites with inappropriate content.
There are different types of filters such as content, search engine, and client side filters.
Use monitoring technology to track and supervise Internet activity.
Track web history.

Get Tech Savvy

Become familiar with the tools and social media platforms your children are using. Monitor their activity and know who they are communicating with.

Teach “Netiquette”

Teach your children how to act appropriately and respectfully on the Internet such as not being rude, mean, inconsiderate, or even a bully. Your interactions on the Internet can be saved and shared with other. It can even be used to get you in trouble legally depending on the circumstances.

Internet Safety Statistics

Cyber Bullying

Cyber bullying occurs when someone, particularly children, bully each other via electronic means. Parents should help teach their children how to prevent bullying, how to handle being bullied, and how they should report it. Acknowledging the issue, remaining calm, and keeping open lines of communication are very important to making sure your child remains and feels safe.

What is Bullying?

Calling someone hurtful and derogatory names
Spreading lies and bad rumors about someone
Being mean and teasing someone
Hitting, punching, shoving, spitting and physically hurting someone
Social exclusion or isolation … not including someone is a group
Getting certain kids or teens to “gang up” on others
Having money or other things taken or damaged
Being threatened or being forced to do things

What is Cyber Bullying?

Sending mean text, e-mail, or instant messages
Posting nasty pictures or messages about others in blogs or on Web sites
Using someone else’s user name to spread rumors or lies about someone
Stealing someone’s password and spreading rumors about someone else making it seem like that person is the Cyber bully

Effects of Cyber Bullying

Being a victim of cyber bullying may have the following effects on your child’s behavior:

Can be afraid to go to school
Can be afraid to ride the bus
Can be afraid to use the school bathroom
Can be afraid of being alone in the school hallway

Children who are the victims of cyber bullying may experience:

Fear
Depression
Loneliness
Anxiety
Low self-esteem
Physical illness
Suicidal thoughts

How to Improve Safety by Stopping Bullying

Cyber bullying is online harassment. Have you witnessed cyber bullying? Here is what you can do to help.

Stand up to the Bully

If you feel safe and comfortable tell the bully what they are doing is mean and wrong Keep it simply and do not bully them back. If you are not comfortable, tell an adult.

Tell an Adult

Don’t be afraid to tell an adult. You are helping someone not tattling. Tell a parent, teacher, school counselor, school nurse, coach, or any adult you trust. Report the facts. Tell what happened, who was bullied, who the bully was, and where and when it happened.

Be a Friend

Be supportive of the person who has been bullied. Get together after school, include them in activities, walk home with them, and sit with them at lunch or on the bus.

Don’t Respond

If someone bullies you, remember that your reaction is usually exactly what the bully wants. Ignore and don’t respond to the bully because this can increase the behavior.

Save the Evidence

Cyber bullying leaves a trail of evidence. This evidence can be a very important tool to proving the bullying exists and ultimately stopping the behavior.

Block and Report

If harassment is coming in the form of instant messages, texts, profiles comments, etc. Use privacy tools to block the person and report the person to a trusted adult or the digital platform (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

Cyber Bullying Statistics

CONCLUSION

Internet Safety and Cyber Bullying can be a challenge for parents and their children but by working together we attempt to solve these problems that are new to many of us. We hope that the Teen Internet Safety Guide has been useful and once you’ve read it that you will share it with others to help keep teens safe in our homes, schools, and communities.