NetSmartz - Internet Safety

During the month of November, Katie Fox of Manhattan Boys and Girls club traveled to WMS three times to make a presentation to each grade level about internet safety.  Miss Fox travels across the state presenting 'NetSmartz' lessons for grades K-12 as well as teachers, staff and parents.  Though the presentations for each grade level were a little bit different they all focused on how our students can keep themselves safe when using the internet, Facebook, web-enabled video games and cell phones.  Here are some of the most important and interesting facts from her presentation.

FACEBOOK and other Social Media Sites
- Age Limit:  The minimum age for having a Facebook account is 13.  This age limit is set because there is a certain level of maturity that is necessary for using this social media site.  If your child is having issues with bullying on Facebook, please consider if they are even of age to be using Facebook.
- Privacy Settings:  If you do not have yours set for "Friends Only" over 600,000,000 people you don't know have access to your most personal information.
- Public Search - In your privacy settings you can find a box labeled 'Enable Public Search.'  Miss Fox recommended unchecking this box so that you can only be found by friends and people you know.  This is a way to protect yourself from shady characters that are searching for young teenagers on the internet.
- Status Updates:  Setting your status as "on vacation with my family for 6 days" is a dead give away that your home is empty and ready for anyone that wants to break in.  Be careful that your status updates don't give habits or personal information that could make you and your family vulnerable.
- Geo-tagging:  If your phone has GPS capabilities then it has Geo-tagging.  When you take a picture with your phone and then upload the picture to Facebook, Twitter or anywhere else on the internet, everyone who sees that picture has access to the 'geo-tag.'  That means they can see the exact time and location the picture was taken.  Again, this is providing very private information to many people - especially if you did not change your privacy settings.  You can turn geo-tagging off.  All phones are different - ask your provider if you need assistance.
- Employers/Recruiters:  When our students begin applying for part-time or full-time jobs and college scholoarships, it is guaranteed there will be a Google and/or Facebook search done on them.  Miss Fox shared that businesses and colleges have sophisticated software that allow them to see a person's internet content (Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc) for the past 5 years - even if it has been deleted!  The content that our 8th graders put on Facebook now will still be accessible when they are applying for college and jobs 5 years from now - even if they delete it! 
- Deleting Information - It is impossible to completely delete or deactivate your information once it has been put into cyber-space.  By the time you decide to delete a bad profile picture, someone else could have saved it to their own computer and can now do anything they want with that file - post it to another website, put it on their Facebook, email it, etc.
- Disguises - People can be whatever they want to be on the internet.  If you do not personally know a person, you have no guarantee they are who they say they are.
- Choose Friends Wisely:  Miss Fox's guidelines for choosing Facebook friends:
       1.  Have you met them face to face?
       2.  Do you have a relationship with this person?
       3.  Have you talked with them in person or on the phone in the last 6-12 months?
       4.  Would you hang out with this person and have a face-to-face conversation?
Hopefully our children can answer yes to these questions!

GAMING
- Much like Facebook, there are ratings on games such as Black Ops for the protection of our children.
- Interactive gaming on games rated 'Mature' increases the likelihood that our children are gaming with people much older than them.  This puts our children in a very dangerous and vulnerable position for bullying and innappropriate interactions.

SEXTING (presented to 8th grade only)
- Sexting can be defined two ways:
       1.  Sending text messages that make sexual references or use sexual inuendos
       2.  Taking an inappropriate picture (either fully or partially nude) and sending it to someone via text.
Miss Fox showed an excellent video that reminded students that once they make the decision to send a 'sext,' what happens next is completely out of their control.  Though they might only send it to 1 person - that person has the power to forward it to 100 people who can each forward it to 100 more people, etc, etc. 
- Legal Ramifications:  Taking, sending or storing a nude or partially nude photo of a young teenager on your phone is considered to be distribution and/or possession of child pornography - even if you are only 14!  There have been multiple cases across the country of teenagers who have shared these types of photos among friends and have ultimately been charged with possession of child pornography.  This is a charge that will go on a person's record and will permanently place them on the state's 'Sexual Offenders' list.  This will seriously jeopordize their ability to get a job, attend the college of their choice, and have the opportunities they might have had otherwise.  Please help us educate our students about the severity and long-term effects of sexting.

WHAT DO I DO NOW?
1.  Sit down with your child and help them check their Facebook Privacy Settings
2.  Have your child take unnecessary personal information off of their profiles - such as cell phone number, home address, and status updates that make your family vulnerable, etc
3.  Encourage your child to eliminate any pictures, comments, or 'interests' that they do not want their future employer to see.
4.  Talk with your child about the consequences of sexting and how to avoid it.

If you believe you have been the target of on-line bullying or innappropriate interaction you can contact:
http://www.cybertipline.com/ or 1.800.THE.LOST to make an anonymous report.

An Unusual Thanksgiving

Signs the holiday season is coming:
- It's dark at 5:30 pm
- Radio stations are playing Christmas music
- Commercials for children's toys are taking over television channels

Regardless of your holiday traditions and celebrations, these signs are also good reminders for us to stop and be thankful for all of the blessings in our lives.  I would encourage you to find a night this week to sit down for a family dinner and participate in this activity together....

'An Unusual Thanksgiving'....
It is easy for us to think of things we are thankful for, but are you ready for a challenge?  See if you can think of 10 things you normally complain about and find a reason to be thankful for them.  I'll give some examples to get you started....

Even though....
....I have to do my laundry, I am thankful to have nice clothes to wear.
....I have to get up really early, I am thankful to see beautiful sunrises on my way to school.
....I have to listen to my mom and dad lecture me, I am thankful to have a family that cares about me.
...I have to do chores, I am thankful that my family needs my help.

Now it's your turn.  Take turns among the members of your family finding ways to be thankful for those things you most often complain about.  You might be in for a few surprises. 

Feel free to share some of your favorites in the comments section - I'm sure some of us can relate!!