Middle School: Online Safety

By Michele Blandino

There is no disputing the fact that the Internet has changed the way we live our lives. From online shopping to staying in touch with far-flung friends and relatives, the Internet has, in many ways, simplified our lives.

Yet, for all of the benefits this technology has reaped, it has a deeply serious side as well. Much has been written over the years on Internet safety, scams and the other dangers associated with being online, and for good reason. With more and more households adding multiple computers, it is becoming increasingly likely that children are spending a great deal of their time online unsupervised.

So, how can parents keep their kids safe while online? Here are some ideas:

• Stay Anonymous – Tell your children that under no circumstance should they post their name, address or telephone number anywhere online. Similarly, they should not provide this information in an online chat or other type of forum. Finally, it is never a good idea for kids to post pictures of themselves online.
• Protect Your Identity – In addition to keeping their personal information private, kids should never share their logins or passwords with others, including friends. While most friends are trustworthy and likely won’t do anything malicious with this information, there are some who will use it to login and pose as your child online.
• Low (or no) Profile – Children should not set-up user profiles with your Internet service provider or anywhere else, such as on topical bulletin boards or in chat rooms. While it may seem that this information is visible only to those logged into the particular service, it is quite easy for experienced hackers to obtain this information and use it to track your child down.
• Be Skeptical – While it’s unfortunate, it will be necessary for you to warn your children that people online may not be who they claim they are. For instance, a person posing as a 12 year-old girl looking for an electronic pen pal can actually be a 40-something year old male child predator. To prevent your child from being victimized, it’s best to err on the side of caution and tell them that their online conversations should be restricted only to people they know.
• When in Doubt, Ask – Ask your children to come to you if they encounter any material or information that makes them feel uncomfortable. If your child has their own e-mail address, be sure to set up a spam filter to reduce the chance of them receiving obscene or suggestive e-mails. Tell them to only open messages from senders whose name they recognize and to alert you to any messages they receive from unfamiliar addresses. Not only will this help you to reduce the likelihood that they will read a message containing illicit material, it will also minimize the chance of your computer being stricken by a virus.

Finally, consider placing the computer your child uses in a part of the house that is heavily trafficked. This will enable you to keep tabs on their online activity without appearing as though you are hovering over them.