Internet Poses Opportunity and Risk: Cybersafety for Children and Teens
A Pennsylvania man who met three teenage girls in an Internet chat room was charged last week with sending pornographic information to them via the Internet. Christopher DeHaven, 32, was arrested when he stepped off a train at Boston’s South Station where he intended to meet up with two of the young girls.
Just as you encounter good and bad people on the streets of your communities, you encounter good and bad people while traveling through cyberspace. This makes the need to arm your children with the ability to protect themselves that more important. Although the Internet is an excellent resource, it poses risks for children and teens who venture into cyberspace unsupervised. Setting limits and family rules for how to interact online and choosing the people your children meet online is necessary.
Unsupervised cyber-surfing has led to the disappearance of children and teens across the country. According to Shay Bilchik, former Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Administrator, 72 percent of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) Internet-related case victims are 15 years of age or older. When the parents were polled about their Internet supervision, 20 percent said they provided no supervision, 52 percent said they provided moderate supervision and 71 percent said they stopped Internet supervision for their child at the age of 14.
“For millions of families this is an issue and a concern and most Americans still don’t get it,” said Ernie Allen, President, NCMEC. He believes that parents have a false sense of security when it comes to the Internet. They are far less computer savvy than their children and think that their children are safe on the computer because they are doing something constructive inside their room. However, individuals who prey on children have quickly adapted to the online community and often use computer technology to seek unsupervised access to and contact with children.
“The Internet came onto the scene so quickly and so pervasively that parents began to look at it as another electronic babysitter,” said Michael Medaris, Program Manager for OJJDP and manager of Internet-related crimes for the organization. While some dangers exist, there is also a tremendous benefit. To deny a child access to this learning tool would place them at a disadvantage, he said. “The best thing a parent can do is become as knowledgeable as their child. Make the Internet experience a shared one,” said Medaris.
The comprehensive effort to raise awareness of online dangers, specifically the online enticement of children, is deeply rooted in the organizations’ (OJJDP’s) fight against child pornography. Once a child has been victimized and photographs have been put on the Internet, it is a, “relentless and ongoing violation of that kid’s privacy,” said Medaris.
Recently, the issue of preventing child pornography on the Internet was raised in workshops at the Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in Vienna and previously at an international conference last fall on “Combating Child Pornography on the Internet.” This annual international conference is based on an initiative by the Foreign Ministers of Austria and the US, Wolfgang Schüssel and Madeline Albright, and calls for cooperation internationally to fight against child pornography. The objectives of the conference include:
Internet Guidelines
The Internet has the ability to create a false sense of security because users don’t know who they are giving information to, what that individual will do with the information or if the user’s cyber-buddy is telling them the truth about their identity. Some guidelines for cyber safety include: never give out personal information or identifying information online, never have a face-to-face meeting with another online user, never respond to messages that are obscene or suggestive and use gender-neutral names in chat rooms like initials.
Parental supervision and increased communication between parents and children are also crucial elements to cybersafety. “Children should feel empowered to discuss both good and bad experiences in cyberspace,” said Medaris. Some suggestions include:
Bedford County, Virginia, under the leadership of Sheriff Michael Brown has developed an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to create a Safe Surfin’ Campaign educational outreach program for students and parents. This campaign, outlined at www.blueridgethunder.com, is presented to all fourth through seventh graders in the county’s public school system. Future plans call for expansion to target the younger and older children.
Currently, the program consists of two video presentations: one for fourth through seventh graders and one for parents to address guidelines for Safe Surfin’. Baseball players from the Salem Avalanche, the Colorado Rockies farm team, help the students learn the guidelines. Once the students have completed the program, they are rewarded by a Safe Surfin Day at the ballpark with the Salem Avalanche.
The acronym SAFE SURFIN is used to convey guidelines of cybersafety. The children’s program utilizes the acronym SAFE to highlight the following guidelines:
Speak with parents and get their permission each time before going online. Parents are also taught cybersafety guidelines using the acronym SURFIN’: Understand that not all information found on the Internet Remember that parents are responsible.
Find out as much as you can about the Internet from Intelligent parents protect personal info.
Now, have FUN on the Internet. Safe surfin'!
“I would like to see the same type of program, same format as DARE about how to keep safe on the Internet,” said Brown.
Internet content that relates specifically to the victimization of children, online enticement of children or child pornography should be reported to NCMEC’s Cybertipline at www.cybertipline.com, a resource for reporting the sexual exploitation of children online. This resource is available 24 hours a day seven days a week.
Parents – You are Not Alone
Although, much of the burden of a child’s safety rests on their parent’s shoulders, there are resources for parents and families about the hidden dangers on the Internet.
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Get Net Wise Safe Surfin Internet Safety Quiz for Kids Safety Quiz for Parents Bedford County Virginia’s Safe Surfin’ Campaign McGruff’s Cybersafety Tips Baptist Women First Florida Police Chief’s Association SafeTeens.Com CYBERANGELS.ORG Cyber Netiquette Tips from Disney Tools and Tips for Parents Tools and Tips for Kids Internet Safety Cyber Patrol Surf Watch U.S. Department of Education’s Parents Guide to the Internet Resources |