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Online Safety
Dangers on the Internet
And a special
section about MySpace.com
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Internet
safety
Parents:
Tips to keep your kids safe:
-
Talk
to your kids about online safety, just as you would
about smoking, alcohol, drugs and strangers.
People are always who they say they are. An
adult sexual predator may say they are a 15 year old
high school student. Do not go and meet
ANYONE.
-
Talk
about blogs and social networking sites. Your
children can teach you about computers and
technology. You can teach them about the real
world and how to be "street smart", be
suspicious and ask questions or verify information
they receive.
-
Set
up your own account with MySpace.com and monitor
what goes on. You can check on your kids and
explore the site to see what information is on the
internet.
-
Urge
them to tell you if they are approached online or
even in person by someone they do not
know.
-
Go
to websites that can help you keep you kids safe.
Click on a link below:
-
www.getnetwise.org/
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www.safekids.com
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www.blogsafety.com
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www.filterreview.com
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www.projectsafekids.org
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www.wiredwithwisdom.org
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Statistics
- 1
in 5 (19%) of young internet users surveyed,
received unwanted sexual solicitations.
- 3%
received aggressive solicitation involving offline
contact or attempts at such.
- 25%
received unwanted exposure to sexual material.
- 6%
reported harassment (threats, rumors,
intimidation)
- Many
instances of harassment and threats begin with
Instant Messages and E-mail messages
Problem
Areas
SAFETY
RULES
Remember,
when you are in any kind of public forum (chat room),
anyone can read what you post or say.
You never know for certain if the people you meet online
are who they say they are. Never get together with
or meet anyone you meet online without talking to your
parents. keep your identity private. Avoid giving
out any information that
- could
help someone determine your actual identity or the
identity of family members or friends. Do not
give out your address or phone number.
-
Never
respond to e-mail, chat or Instant Messages that make
you feel uncomfortable.
-
"Stealing
isn't learning" ... The pitfalls of plagiarism
are very serious.
-
Talk
with your parents about expectations and rules for
going online. Communicating with parents does
not mean that you have to give up your privacy.
-
Do
not interfere with another person's screen name or
profile. This is a crime.
For
more information: NYS Division of Criminal Justice
Services, Missing & Exploited Children
Clearinghouse)
BLOGS
nAn
online journal that is free and available to anyone
nPredators
look for personal information, i.e. address, school,
schedules, employment…
nWhat
you read is not necessarily true
nPeople
are not always who they say they are
nMySpace.com
is the most popular
Monitor
and read what your child puts on the internet—talk
with them about the dangers
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MySpace.com
Website
draws teens-parents should be concerned. Parents
are encouraged to visit this website and learn about the
content.
What
is Myspace.com?
Myspace.com
is a blog site (short for Web-log), an Internet site
where people can post information and others may have an
opportunity to respond.
Myspace.com
is a password-protected site where visitors may add
comments to individual webpages only if they are
"invited" by the page author. Unfortunately,
this security feature creates a false sense of safety.
While it is true that "strangers" cannot
access the complete blog, they can access an author's
profile—the mini biography that may include their
screen name, real name, school affiliation, hometown, or
even a photograph. Sometimes even the most
innocent information can be used by predators to find or
figure out who a young person is. Teams, clubs,
employment, schedules and other personal information can
be used to narrow down who and where a student is.
This along with a photo make students easy targets for
illegal or unsafe activity.
Recent
concerns over Myspace focus on the ability to access
those profiles. Just a click of a mouse on the
"search" link at Myspace.com enables the user
to search the profiles listing by school or by name. In
cases across the nation, naive bloggers have unknowingly
provided Internet predators with addresses and photos
via the profiles.
The
Mohonasen School District has blocked access to the
website on school computers. At home, parents must
determine for themselves what may or may not be
appropriate for their children.
To
learn more about Myspace, simply search the Internet for
Myspace. New articles appear daily. A sampling of those
articles include:
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