Parenting and the Internet

Everything you ever wanted to knowabout what your kids knowabout the Internet!

Who am I? “The Internet is the

first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.”  Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO of Google Inc.

Objectives…

Give a general overview of how kids are using the internet today

Point out areas that may need guidance and direction

Give tips on how you can help your child be a responsible and safe user

Answer your questions

Brief History of the Internet

"When I took office, only high energy physicists had ever heard of what is called the Worldwide Web.... Now even my cat has its own page." President Clinton

The future of the internet & kids

Kids and the Internet – Where do they go on?

Me & the Internet

Teen (& Parent) Internet Usage

More parents and teens are online Some 93% of youth are online and

94% of their parents are online. Overall, 87% of parents who have a child ages 12-17 use the internet, up from 80% in the 2004 survey.

PEW/Internet: Parent & Teenager Internet Use, October 24, 2007

Big Dangers… XXX Online Gambling Cyberbullying – Aggressor, Bystander or

Victim Predators

Target & prey on “vulnerable” kids Groom over long period of time Try to be a best friend Send gifts, blackmail with secrets

“Addiction”

How kids are using the internet … INFORMATION: News, Blogs, Databases,

GoogleBook, Wikipedia COMMUNICATION: Email, Instant

Messaging, Blogs, SOCIALIZATION: Social Networking Sites-

MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, ENTERTAINMENT: YouTube, Games COMMERCE: Amazon, EBay, Banking &

Finance ….& combinations of everything!

INFORMATION

"Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant." Mitch Kapor

Real or Hoax?

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/tests

Love it or hate it? www.google.com www.wikipedia.com TRY… www.lii.org www.ipl.org Online

Databases Talk to your

librarian

INFORMATION: Things to consider

Authoritative Sites Plagiarism Intellectual Property Rights Accidental visits to bad websites

COMMUNICATION

User agreements

http://collect.myspace.com/misc/terms.html

http://about.aol.com/aolnetwork/aolcom_terms

COMMUNICATION :Things to consider There is no privacy Beware of lurkers, predators, phishers

(identity theft) Open to spam, viruses Permanence of blogs, webpages, social

sites Who do you *really* know Netiquette http://www.albion.com/netiquette/ Downloading can be criminal Developmental stages and maturity of the

child

Internet Sex Offenders

Often adult men who use the internet to meet and seduce adolescents into sexual encounters (not pedophiles)

Often use chat rooms to solicit adolescents

Seek those who are susceptible to seduction

Rarely violent

Online “Predators” and Their Victims (Feb 2008): University of New Hampshire Internet Solutions for Kids, Inc.

Internet Victims 99% Adolescents (13-17), Girls are more

vulnerable 73% of the victims had more than one

sexual encounter with the offender Sexual curious, may be confused about

their sexual orientation (especially boys) Send personal information to unknown

people Suffer from sadness, loneliness, depression

and/or more likely to engage in risky behavior

Online “Predators” and Their Victims (Feb. 2008): University of New Hampshire Internet Solutions for Kids, Inc.

Chat acronyms ASL: Age/Sex/Location POS: Parent over shoulder PIR: Parent in room PAW: Parents are watching PAL: Parents are listening KPC: Keeping parents clueless WYCM?: Will you call me LMIRL: Let’s meet in real life KFY: Kiss for you TDTM: Talk dirty to me

Web cams – new & emerging

New computers are being shipped with web cams

Live chats NIFOC:Nude in front of computer

SOCIALIZATION

SOCIALIZATION :Things to consider

User agreement How much information to reveal A picture is worth a thousand words Who will use this information How will this information be spread Privacy options Lurkers, predators

College applications, internships, school conduct…

…education company Kaplan, a unit of Washington Post Co.,surveyed 500 top colleges. The study found that 10% of admissions officers acknowledged researching social network profiles to evaluate applicants. 38% of the colleges that factor information gathered from the social web revealed that their findings "negatively affected" their views of the applicant, with several admissions officers rejecting students because of the publicly shared content.

College Applicants, Beware: Your Facebook Page Is Showing By JOHN HECHINGER, Wall Street Journal, September 18, 2008

Socialization*different ages –different developmental phases*

Teens & Social Media: Pew Report December 2007

55% of online teens (ages 12-17) have created a social networking site such as MySpace or Facebook

47% of online teens have uploaded photos where others can see them (39% restrict access “most of the time”)

14% of online teens have posted videos

Let’s take a look…

www.myspace.com www.facebook.com www.clubpenguin.com Instant messaging www.youtube.com

ENTERTAINMENT

ENTERTAINMENT:Things to consider

Sites are not rated Lurkers, predators Time spent on these sites

COMMERCE

COMMERCE:Things to consider

Teaching to kids to be a savvy consumer

Secure payment options Identity theft

More, more, more-all at once!

The good news is…

YOU know your child best! YOU have parenting instincts…trust

them! YOU are the most influential teacher

and model for your child! YOU know more than you think you

do about the internet! YOU can be a part of the cyber world

Learning to drive the information highway

Hints & Ideas Warn kids not to reveal any

identifying information or to have an in-person meeting from someone online

Work to set reasonable expectations Be a part of the virtual world Join same networks, share passwords,

etc. – Learn how the site operates Ask questions

Hints & Ideas

Find fun sites you can share > Start with your shared interests: knitting, cooking, travel, science

Teachable moments Require that all online activity take

place in a central area of the home Remind kids to trust their instincts Remind kids that they can trust you

Hints & ideas Discuss the possibilities of cyberbullying:

victim, participant, bystander Discuss the possibility of telling on a friend

who is in trouble or in danger from online activity

Discuss pornography and your views Discuss relationships and sexual

relationships: what they entail, what is a healthy relationship, etc.

Internet safety is an ongoing lesson

Hints & Ideas

Internet History Filtering Logging Nanny software *These usually do not work

And just a few more :>)

Help kids practice goodergonomics Help kids learn organizational skills Help kids learn tech-tidiness Help kids learn to save & back-up Help kids learn computer time

management

Some warning signs

Becomes more withdrawn or other marked change in behavior

Quickly clicks out of a web page when you come in the room

Child has manyon-line accounts

YOUR instincts

Concerned?

Reach out to child Contact Internet sites & providers Work with school Contact authorities Contact legislators

Internet Sites I-Safe :: www.isafe.org www.WiredSafety.org http://www.cyberbullying http://www.enough.org http://www.ryanpatrickhalligan.org/ A website that highlights the personal story of one boy

and cyberbullying. This site also gives specifics on Vermont’s laws and policies.

http://www.cyberbullyhelp.com/ http://www.netfamilynews.org http://www.ikeepsafe.org/

Questions?

Objectives…did we meet them?

Give a general overview of how kids are using the internet today

Point out areas that may need guidance and direction

Give tips on how you can help your child be a responsible and safe user

Answer your questions

The End