CyberEducation Agenda Why its important to be cybereducated

Cyber-Education

Agenda § Why it’s important to be cyber-educated § Why do teens/kids like social networking? § Common safety issues § Facebook Demonstration § Ways to promote internet safety in the home § The legal aspect of teen internet use § Useful resources

Did You Know?

Did You Know? § More than one in five (22%) 13 -17 year olds said their parents or guardians have never discussed Internet safety with them. § Cox Communications Press Release; May 11, 2006 § 14% of Teens Have Had Face-to-Face meetings with People They’ve Met on the Internet. § Cox Communications Press Release; May 11, 2006 § 1 in 4 children ages 10 -17 has been exposed to pornography. § National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Did You Know? § 1 in 5 children under 17 yrs has received unwanted sexual solicitation online. § National Center for Missing and Exploited Children § 1 in 33 kids has received an aggressive solicitation to meet somewhere. § National Center for Missing and Exploited Children § U. S. Customs estimates that there are 100, 000 websites involved in child pornography.

Did You Know? § Approximately 40% of students polled did not recognize the dangers of chatting online with strangers. § Approximately 50% of students polled did not understand the dangers of exchanging pictures with, or meeting in person, people they have met on the internet. § Approximately 50% of children use the internet alone. -www. Parentalsoftware. org § i. SAFE poll results

Why Do Teens Love Technology? § Exposure to the world; can meet people from any country. § Keep tabs on friends at school. § Create and showcase who they are. § It’s THEIR SPACE. There is a sense of empowerment attached to controlling a private piece of their own world; usually a place with no parents.

Parents Are Often Out of the Loop

Common Safety Issues §Cyberbullying §Unsafe exposure of personal information

Cyberbullying “Cyberbullying is an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly over time against a victim who can not easily defend him or herself. ” -ISL Anti-Bullying Policy June, 2010

§ The National Crime Prevention Council defines it as: “When the internet, cell phone, or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person. ” § This includes: § § Threats Sexual remarks Hate speech Posting false statements as fact aimed at humiliation § Ganging up on a victim by making them the subject of ridicule.

FACTS § Nearly 35% of kids have been threatened online § 9 out of 10 middle school students have had their feelings hurt online. § 75% have visited a website bashing another student. § 58% of kids have had someone say something hurtful to them online (4 th-8 th grade) § Ducato, Horowitz, and Lennon (2011)

Where Cyberbullying Happens § Personal Websites/Social Networking Pages § Blogs § Third-party websites/Social Networking Pages § Email § Discussion groups § Chats § Instant Messaging § Texting § Sending digital images via cell phone

Types of Cyberbullying Indirect Direct Posting to Formspring Harassing texts as “anonymous” Mean emails Forwarding personal Phone calls information Mean instant messages Hacking (IMs) Blocking users Bumping Posting rumors Happy slapping Impersonation Angry posts on blogs or Forwarding pictures social sites Flaming Brewer (2011), Counseling Today, June 2005 Tagging mean photos

Why Cyberbullying is Serious • Cyberbullies follow victims into their homes. • Embarrassing photos or degrading comments are shared with the school, and the world, in just a few clicks. • No place is safe and everyone knows about his/her humiliation.

Strategies for Kids Think before they click: Could their message be misinterpreted? Take five: If a student is feeling upset about something on the computer, encourage them to step away in order to calm down. Stop-Block-Tell: Stop chatting or viewing the material immediately, block the sender, and tell an authority figure.

If a Child is Being Cyberbullied… § Save all evidence of the cyberbullying § Try to identify the cyberbully § Contact authorities. If this is something that is § § § carrying over into the school, this includes school officials. In the extreme cases of death threats, bodily harm, excessive intimidation, extortion, or sexual exploitation, contact the police and an attorney. Contact the parents of the cyberbully. Take measures to have the material removed from the Internet. Extensive guidelines can be found at www. cyberbully. org

AB 86 Section 32270 The school may discipline a student if he or she: r). Engaged in an act of bullying, including, but not limited to, bullying committed by means of an electronic act, as defined in subdivisions (f) and (g) of Section 32261, directed specifically toward a pupil or school personnel. Electronic Act: The transmission of a communication, including, but not limited to, a message, text, sound, or image by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager.

AB 86 What this means The school can discipline students who meet the above criteria IF the act of bullying carries over into the school.

Criminal Threats § Penal Code 422. Any person who willfully threatens to commit a crime which will result in death or great bodily injury to another person, with the specific intent that the statement, made verbally, in writing, or by means of an electronic communication device, is to be taken as a threat, even if there is no intent of actually carrying it out, which, on its face and under the circumstances in which it is made, is so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific as to convey to the person threatened, a gravity of purpose and an immediate prospect of execution of the threat, and thereby causes that person reasonably to be in sustained fear for his or her own safety or for his or her immediate family's safety, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison.

Criminal Threats § For the purposes of this section, "immediate family" means any spouse, whether by marriage or not, parent, child, any person related by consanguinity or affinity within the second degree, or any other person who regularly resides in the household, or who, within the prior six months, regularly resided in the household. § "Electronic communication device" includes, but is not limited to, telephones, cellular telephones, computers, video recorders, fax machines, or pagers. "Electronic communication" has the same meaning as the term defined in Subsection 12 of Section 2510 of Title 18 of the United States Code.

- Special Tips • Students are “friends” with people who aren’t their actual friends. • Students can create multiple sites, one where parents are friends and one where they aren’t. • Kids will tag each other in photos as a form of aggression, i. e. tagging someone in an uploaded photo of a dog, etc. • Kids have it as an app on their phones • “Facebook Depression” –American Academy of Pediatrics Social Media Guidelines 2011

Formspring § http: //www. formspring. me/ § “Formspring lets you share personal and interesting responses with people you know. ” § Formspring also allows people to make anonymous comments about you. § Students log in, find other kids on Formspring, and anonymously send them mean and harmful messages.

Unsafe Exposure of Personal Information § Listing home address, school address, and phone number. § Discussing intimate details of their lives via a blog or other forum. § Posting provocative images. § Having conversations with strangers and accepting strangers to be their “friend. ”

Janine Marks, a 12 -year-old, was fairly normal. Janine spent a lot of time online. She felt more comfortable there. One day she met a new friend. They liked the same bands. They worried about the same subjects in school. They promised to keep each other’s secrets. They decided to meet at the mall. Janine showed up. So did her new friend. Only her friend wasn’t in Junior High. Wasn’t nice. And wasn’t 14.

Why Unsafe Exposure is Serious § 79% of teens state that they aren’t careful enough when giving out § information about themselves online. 64% of teens say that they do things online that they wouldn’t want their parents to know about. § Pew Internet and American Life, “Protecting Teens Online” 2005 § Statistics of online predators divulge that only one quarter of children who § § § are exposed to sexual content or overt solicitation will actually go ahead and let a parent know. The other three quarters do not mention anything; it is unclear if this is for fear of having Internet privileges revoked, being considered uncool by peers online and off, or simply because they are making their first experimental steps into sexuality and are flattered by the attention they are receiving. The statistics of online predators also reveal that a good portion—about 22%–were actually aimed at those children who are between the ages of 10 and 13. Many social networking sites do not allow minors under 13 to join, but this is a rule that is broken consistently. § Crimes against Children Research Center

Strategies for Kids 4 R's of Internet Safety § RECOGNIZE techniques used by online predators to deceive you. § REFUSE requests for personal information. § RESPOND assertively if you are ever in an uncomfortable situation while online. Exit the program, log off or turn off the computer, tell a trusted adult, or call the police. § REPORT to a trusted adult, any suspicious or dangerous contact that makes your feel uncomfortable.

Advice for Parents § your child’s name, nicknames, and friends’ names. § Be aware that students may have decoy sites. § Software programs can monitor and keep records of every website a child has visited and every correspondence sent and received. *Note: This is something that may bring up trust issues between parent and child.

Advice for Parents § Be aware of Geotagging, which is a way that photos are tagged and the latitude/longitude are automatically uploaded to the internet. (Twitter)

Advice for Parents § Learn to talk the talk- acronyms & “Leetspeak” § A form of communication where users replace letters with numbers, letters, or other characters to make words. § EX: POS - parent over shoulder, POP - parent on prowl, CTN - can't talk now, 1’m b 0 r 3 d).

Advice for Parents § Share and discuss news stories about cyberstalkers § § and online sexual predators. Remind your child to stay anonymous. Don't share personal information online. Know what videogames they play and who they play with (Wo. W, Rift, Xbox Live). Kids hide text messages through Apps! Know what “sexting” is and what it looks like. § The average teen sends 3, 339 texts each month. (Nielsen Poll 2010), 100 texts per day among girls (Pew 2010) § In 2009, Brady James, 14, sent 217, 541

Advice for Parents § Visit social websites like Facebook with your child. Discuss posting too much information, inappropriate photographs, or sites that might have other "red flags" associated with them. § Install Internet filters, but don't assume that they will take the place of parental supervision. § Discuss with your child the importance of never meeting cyber acquaintances in person.

Advice for Parents § Teach your children to log off and/or block § § § anyone, known or unknown, who engages in sketchy online behavior. Sometimes it may be necessary to change an email address, profile, or password in order to steer clear of trouble. Show your child how to use buddy and friend lists and how to block or delete others. Children who blog should be taught that any content posted to a website can ultimately be downloaded by nearly anyone with a computer. At home, allow Internet connected computers only in a family area. Monitor your child's computer use.