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Internet Safety Night is all about keeping our children safe By Liz Dadson |
Education/Internet & Technology To Comment on this article Click Here |
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It's important to keep our children safe while they use social media technology on the worldwide web. That was the focus of the Internet Safety Night hosted by the Kincardine District Secondary School Home and School Association and School Community Council, Thursday night at the school, with about 45 people in attendance. The presentation was given by South Bruce OPP constable Kevin Martin, community services officer, who said he is pro-Internet and pro-technology. However, he is also is pro-safety when it comes to the use of all the new-wave technology that is available, particularly for young people. "Technology has advanced so quickly and it is incredibly powerful," says Martin. "Facebook is No. 1 in the world. That's global. And parents have to realize that, sure, we're physically safe in our homes with our computers, but the Internet is worldwide. So, we have to be protected in our use of it. "We have to protect our youth and educate people about the Internet. It's easily accessible and there is no authority anywhere controlling it." Martin says technology is going to continue to change rapidly and if people don't change with it, they disadvantage themselves and their children. Facebook is a particularly popular social media venue for teenagers, says Martin. "Your Facebook experience begins with 'Adding a Friend'," he says. "Before Adding a Facebook Friend, ask yourself: Would you trust this person alone in your home with yours and your family's most valuable possessions and information? If not, don't add them." The next most important point, he says, is not to give your Facebook password to anyone, not even your best friend. "Treat your password like your toothbrush; don't share it with anyone." And remember, anything that is put on the Internet stays there forever. Be aware of information, photos and video you are uploading because they can be posted and reposted by many others. Youth
should never post their own picture as a profile photo because it can
be easily copied and transferred to someone else's computer and
modified to embarrass them or ruin their reputation. Martin adds that any information put on Facebook allows the owners of Facebook to do whatever they want with it, including photos and videos. So, be careful with what you post. He says webcams are a concern because they are accessible to on-line strangers who can identify a lot of personal items from the background of videos. They then use that information to lure young people into conversations in on-line chat rooms. When youth are in an on-line chat room, they should beware of the any references to ASL: Age, Sex, Location. If any of those come up in the conversation, get off-line. "Who controls what you search on the Internet ... you," says Martin. "Unsupervised youth are leaving their IP address (connection to the Internet) through everything they've searched. Anybody can view that, including criminals." He said Safe Surfing of the 'Net requires:
"Take the 'real-life' test," says Martin. "If you wouldn't do it in real life, don't do it on-line."
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 South Bruce OPP constable Kevin Martin, community services officer, gets ready to talk to an audience of parents and students about Internet safety He stresses there are many risks for youth when surfing the Internet:
Never put personal information on the Internet, says Martin, including your name, address, telephone number, school or birthday. "Keep your information generic and innocuous," he says. "You never know who is on the other line." And be careful posting embarrassing videos. "What was once just a momentary stumble becomes such a major embarrassment that it can lead some youth to suicide," says Martin. "Remember, anything you share on-line has a potential audience of six billion." He stresses that parents must become involved and be aware of what their children are searching and watching on-line. Set standards of use (on-line contracts); monitor Internet use in an open area and check the history; use the Internet for help - safety sites, netlingo, dictionaries; and check the Internet service providers and social networking sites for terms-of-use agreements. There are also such helpful resources as:
"The Internet is not all bad, but it can be used for bad things," says Martin. "We can mitigate the problems by being aware, being educated, and knowing what's going on." Scrolling stops when you move your mouse inside the scroll area. You can click on the ads for more
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