I have teens and am not super paranoid about the internet or their useage of it. We have discussed the basics about not giving out your home address, full name etc. They're more careful than that, using aliases. This article suggests that what is more important is just "playing nicely".
Take a look and see what you think. For all of us who spend a good amount of time on the internet, and even more for those of us with munchkins, this is an important point to ponder. Maybe we were focused on the wrong thing before. Or maybe doing both makes the most sense....
8 Comments on Internet Safety Article to Share
Mary: I think we have the responsibility to teach our children to not give out ANY personal information - especially children with school, grade, where they live, etc. - and to write/blog appropriately on the internet. Rhonda
That was an interesting article. I too would have thought giving out personal info was a big no no... but I can completely see that teaching kids to spot red flags is a sound way to go. That way they can still communicate with their friends...but know when they are not talking to "friends".
Mary, I was always running in to check and see who my kids were talking to on the internet; finally I just moved the computer into a common room...and I would still advise people not to give out personal information like where they live. You never can tell who it is they're really speaking with that might be posing as someone else.
Rhonda - agreed, I think the point of the article, though, was that it's MORE important to not make enemies...
Debi - it never hurts to be extra safe. I was surprised at the findings of that article myself.
Carole - I think ti's also a matter of age. I think if we educate our kids to be careful but ALSO (and maybe especially) to "play nicely out there" they will be as safe as possible.
It makes a lot of sense. The sad thing is that the kids that are the most vulnerable often do not have someone to tell them don't give out personal information AND play nice online. Sometimes those kids have no one to supervise their internet use, too much freedom.
Predators know what to look for, online and in the real world. It should reassure most parents that if their kids are playing nice and playing safe they are relatively safe.
Mary - excellent post! I have 3 boys and they spend many as many hours on the net as I do AR. Myspace, youtube, etc all have some pretty bad stuff we have to constantly monitor. This doesn't even take into consideration all the predators that may be lurking over their presence! Be Mindful, and be careful is our motto! :-)
Maureen I think so too. If you make enemies, they can find you way too easily no matter how secret you think your identity is.
Brad thanks so much. Same with my kids.... It's like looking both ways before you cross the street, but also listening (don't walk around with a headset on so loud that you can't hear). Just common sense.
those are great advises, nice thoughts, I have a 2 years and 2 months old daugther, we need to be very careful when they start using the computers and to educate them very well to not give personal information to people who really do not know in person, specially them.
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Mary: I think we have the responsibility to teach our children to not give out ANY personal information - especially children with school, grade, where they live, etc. - and to write/blog appropriately on the internet. Rhonda