Five Rules for Tackling Cyber Troubles

There are a lot of scary things going on in the cyber world these days. I've read more articles in the past several weeks then I've seen in a long time:

- 9 and 10 year olds posing in chat rooms as pedophiles in order to scare their friends.

- The charging of eight teenagers for luring one of their "friends" over to a house so they could beat her and then post the video on YouTube to draw some attention to themselves.

- New reports on teens swapping nude pictures of themselves on their mobile phones to attract attention to themselves.

- Older now, but the still very tragic story of Megan Meir, who hung herself after she was traumatized by a cyberbully who turned out to be the mother of one of her peers.

After my shock and dismay at the continuing emergence of these stories, wondering if there are actually more of these stories or just more of them being reported on, it leaves me wondering what to do.

My answer may be the opposite of what many would think.

My solution to these stories is to allow kids more unfettered access to the internet, combined with a solid education program on internet safety, privacy, and bullying, as well as exposure to stories like these at an appropriate age. When sex education was first started in many schools, many people complained and worried that the exposure to the material would increase the likelihood that children would become pregnant and have more unsafe sex. Instead, statistics prove the exact opposite. When students receive more information, they become safer.

Five solid rules I teach the kids in my class to be safe online:

1.) Don't linger in places that may be high risk. While you may have the need occasionally to be in a chat room or in another space like that, just as you wouldn't hang out in dark back alleys for long, don't be in these spaces either.

2.) Work hard to protect your online identity. Protect the basics: your whole name, details about your family, your address, IM address, etc. These are the basics that are usually used to find you online. Work hard to keep the breadcrumbs to a minimum.

3.) IM is students' main way of communicating online. Keep your accounts safe and your password protected. Make sure nobody is messing with your FaceBook, Myspace, bebo, etc., accounts. Be aware.

4.) Read the stuff that is out there. I often pass on articles, write blog posts on our class blog, discuss things in class and ask for their input and opinions about some of the terrible things that happen online. I don't think by any stretch it is encouraging kids to do the same thing. It helps potential bullies to know that we are aware of some of the things that happen online and it lets potential victims be aware of some of the things that have happened.

5.) Know how your technology works. Know about your webcam, your audio software, your camera, know where your SD cards are and your cell phone. If students know this kind of stuff, they will again know when it has been messed with or when someone is trying to get them to turn it on at a time or in a place that is inappropriate.

Five basic rules. There are many more, but with these five as a staring point, kids will have a good chance of being safe online.

Tags: cyberbullies, teens, classrooms

Comments

[Kimberly Brown]

Great post. I'll use it when I'm talking to the students & parents about internet safety. Thanks.

[Karen]

I teach online safety each quarter as I get a new group of kids in my 6th and 7th grade computer classes. I'm just wrapping the 4th quarter unit. I teach my kids 3 basic rules:

1)Don't give out any information that specifically identifies WHO you are.

2)Don't give out any information that specifically identifies WHERE you can be found.

3) Don't do, say or post anything that would attract a predator.

Each quarter I have the kids use technology to show what they have learned. This quarter they are going to make PSA ads using Movie Maker or Photo Story.

[Dave]

Thx. for the tips. It's good to be able to have some standards that are concisely written on a large topic. May I use sometime in a school newsletter?

[Clarence Fisher]

Dave: Of course. Anything on this blog is fair game. Its all covered by a CC license. Follow those rules and I'm a happy blogger.

[Luke Gilkerson]

Great thoughts! I will be sure to use some of this info for my blog.

For more information on children's Internet safety, check out the Breaking Free blog. I'd love to hear your comments:
1. Safety Tips for Parents: http://www.covenanteyes.com/blog/2008/03/25/a-parents-guide-to-internet-safety-for-children/
2. Online Predators: http://www.covenanteyes.com/blog/2008/04/03/protecting-kids-online-the-myths-and-realities-of-online-predators/
3. Cyberbullying: http://www.covenanteyes.com/blog/2008/04/07/cyberbullying-the-new-playground/

[Jim Dornberg]

Great advice. Short and sweet too. I've been doing some preliminary research that shows students are about as likely to be sexually abused by a school employee as an internet predator. I think we need to provide students more information and education on cyberbullying than the whole "stranger danger" thing that's been done to death on TV.