 Internet Safety
 Who’s your child meeting online? You may not know what MySpace and Facebook are, but chances are your middle school and high school kids do. And in many cases, your children may be revealing some very personal information about themselves — and your entire family — to thousands of strangers who share in these online “communities.” Another grave concern is that these online social networks can become one giant time vortex – a black hole of chatter – and for many kids it’s hard to find an exit.
Meeting Strangers • 60 percent of online teens have gotten an e-mail or IM from a total stranger and 63 percent of these say they have responded to such contacts • 54 percent of boys and 46 percent of girls have sent email or IM to a stranger • 57 percent of older teens have done this, compared to 41 percent of teens ages 12-14 • One in five teens has arranged to meet an online friend in person • Girls are more likely than boys are to arrange a face-to-face meeting (26 percent vs. 14 percent) • One in five teenagers have been sexually solicited while on the Internet
MySpace and Facebook – What Are They? Should We Be Concerned?
From a March 2007, Time Magazine Article: A Dad’s Encounter with The Vortex of Facebook
MySpace (and Facebook) is both noun and verb, the unchallenged colossus of adolescent communication that works like the telephone, the back fence, the class bulletin board (and, at times, the locker room),all rolled into one virtual mosh pit.
These online social networks have become, almost overnight, booming teen magnets exerting an almost irresistible pull on kid’s time and attention. Though both sites are only two years old, MySpace is the No. 2 most trafficked spot on the Internet; Facebook is No. 7, right behind Google. MySpace is open to anyone with an e-mail address; Facebook requires members to be affiliated with a college or a high school. Facebook has 7 million members.
"But to me the bigger worry with these sites isn’t so much the privacy or security issues, though those are real enough. It’s the sheer amount of screen-sucking time they consume in the lives that are already overscheduled. MySpace is one giant time vortex – a black hole of chatter – and for many kids it’s hard to find an exit. Under it’s influence, 90 minutes of homework ends up taking four to five hours, says Dr. Alan Goodwin, principal of Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Md.
Many colleges have discovered a powerful incentive for improving digital deportment, informing students that a variety of employers admit they check applicants’ Facebook pages for clues to their character and personalities before making a job offer. "Most students who use Facebook," says Facebook’s marketing director "realize that anything you post there is public information."
Internet Safety: What parents need to know
• All bets are off. If they have earned your trust, give it to them. If not, unplug the computer and take away their cell phones and interactive gaming device • Respect their privacy more and talk with them about their online experiences. • Filter sites that are inappropriate for young teens, instead of blocking all but approved sites. Some bad ones will get through, though. So talk about it beforehand. • Give them more leeway on people they can accept IMs or e-mails from. But check and account for everyone, in real life, on their buddy list. No friends of friends. •
Make sure you filter or block image searches, which are often a way around many filters. • Block peer-to-peer technologies and get your kids an account with iTunes or another legal music download site. • Teach them to guard their passwords. Password theft is a serious problem at this age. • Teach them not to pirate software or motion pictures. • Have them Google themselves often: screen names, telephone and cell numbers, addresses, full names, nicknames, etc. • Try and limit their use of chatrooms to monitored chatrooms or themed chatrooms on safe topics. • Limit their online use (including text-messaging) to under 90 minutes a day aside from a special school project). • Keep them out of social network or online dating sites such as xanga.com, friendster.com or match.com. • Talk to them about not meeting strangers offline • Buy girls a copy of “A Girl’s Life Online” (formerly known as “Katie.com”) to read. • Keep the computer in a central location and watch new interactive devices such as cell phones, text messaging devices and interactive gaming devices, like Xbox Live. Use parental controls if they come with them – Xbox does, for example.
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