Sue Scheff: Teens and Internet Safety

Author: Kate Fogarty Source: University of Florida IFAS Extension
Introduction: Teens Navigating Cyberspace

If you believe e-mail, blogs, and instant messaging are a completely harmless way for teens to communicate, think again! Many teens have Internet access--often private communication in the form of blogs, chat rooms, and forums. These online communication aids are not themselves a problem. But the ever-present threat of being sexually solicited or bullied while on the Internet is a big problem.

While online, teens may be persuaded to do things or share private/confidential information, to be sexually solicited, and/or to experience public humiliation. Recent testimony on child protection before Congress, alerted the public to online sexual solicitation of teens. However, parents and youth workers may be less aware of "cyber-bullying" in which peers viciously attack one another. This article will define online sexual solicitation and cyber-bullying, explain the risk factors and negative effects of these communications, and outline ways to protect youth from harm.

Click here for the entire aricle.

Sue Scheff: i-Safe - Helping Keep Your Kids Safe Online

i-SAFE Inc. is the worldwide leader in Internet safety education. Founded in 1998 and endorsed by the U.S. Congress, i-SAFE is a non-profit foundation dedicated to protecting the online experiences of youth everywhere. i-SAFE incorporates classroom curriculum with dynamic community outreach to empower students, teachers, parents, law enforcement, and concerned adults to make the Internet a safer place. Please join us today in the fight to safeguard our children’s online experience.

Click here for more information.

Parents Universal Resource Experts - Sue Scheff: Parents Helping Stop Bullying and School Violence

Parents Universal Resource Experts (Sue Scheff): Love our Children USA offers help for kids and parents today with all the issues they face. Bullying, cyberbullying and school violence is part of what our children may face. Learn more here.

Parents Universal Resource Experts - Sue Scheff - Screen Addicts

By Connect with Kids
Screen Addicts

New research shows that each week our children spend five hours online, six hours on the phone, eight hours playing video games, 12 hours listening to music, and 30 hours watching TV or movies. The American Medical Association reports that five million kids are addicted to videogames.

This program explores the dangers in the technology that has overtaken our kids’ lives. The profiles include four siblings constantly fighting over use of the family computer, a teenager whose addiction to online pornography started when he was 12 years old, and another teen who got hooked on Internet gambling and is now paying off $18,000 in credit card debt.

The program also examines choices parents can make about how to protect their children from these hazards; the research is clear that one parenting style is far more effective than several others.

Parents Universal Resource Experts - Sue Scheff - WiredSafety.org Helping keep kids safe online

WiredSafety provides help, information and education to Internet and mobile device users of all ages. We help victims of cyberabuse ranging from online fraud, cyberstalking and child safety, to hacking and malicious code attacks. We also help parents with issues, such as MySpace and cyberbullying. More about us...

Sue Scheff: Teenage Internet Safety

By Connect with Kids

Caught in the Web

Once they turn 12 kids think they know just about everything, so how do you teach them about teenage Internet safety? With hundreds of teen chat rooms online, there really is no way to guarantee Internet safety for teenagers. Go into one and within minutes, someone will type a message like: “How old are you?” “Where do you live?” “Are your parents home?”

Can you really know who’s talking to your kids online? And what information are your children sharing? The Internet offers amazing advantages, but it also gives predators a new way to find and stalk their victims. And kids are using technology to “cyberbully” - sending malicious emails and harassing Instant Messages, creating a whole new area of concern when it comes to teenage Internet safety.

Real-Life Stories Teach Internet Safety for Teenagers

Caught in the Web, tells the true story of 13-year-old Kylie Taylor, who met a 47-year old man in a chat room and agreed to meet him – a move that nearly cost Kylie her life. You’ll also hear about teenage Internet safety from reformed cyber predators, their victims and learn what parents can do about kids sending abusive messages online.

Watch Caught in the Web with your family, so you can teach your children about the devastating effects of cyberbullying. Hear from experts about the best ways to improve Internet safety for kids. And learn the meaning of “online lingo” that could save your child’s life.

Order Caught in the Web today to learn what you can do about teenage Internet safety.

www.helpyourteens.com

Sue Scheff - Keeping Kids Safe Online - ReputationDefender/MyChild

Reputation Defender / My Child -- Know what's online about your child before it can hurt them.

A priceless service for any parent that has kids that are online and using social networks.

Sue Scheff - Learn More about Cyber Safety and your Kids

Internet Safety Websites to help educate parents to protect their children from Internet Predators:

SafeKids.com
Wired Safety
I-Safe
I Keep Safe

For more information on Internet Predators and Teens - Dateline Series - To Catch a Predator. Check your local listings.

Sue Scheff: Warning Signs of Internet Addiction

Warning Signs your Teen May Be Addicted
Psychological and Physical Signs and Symptoms

If you are worried that your teen may be suffering from an unhealthy addiction to the Internet, there are many physical and mental warning signs to watch for. Many of these symptoms are very similar to those of depression and anxiety, another very serious condition affecting teens today. If you feel your teen is suffering from depression, please visit Sue Scheff™'s web resource on teen depression and anxiety.

Feelings of intense happiness and euphoria while using the Internet, and feelings of depression, anxiety or irritability if away from the computer

Cravings for the Internet - Never having enough time with it

Neglecting family and friends - spending more time with the computer and less time doing activities previously enjoyed.

Getting behind on homework or school activities

Lying about what they are doing while online

Complains of dry eyes

Complains of Headaches

Complains of Backaches

Changes in eating habits such as skipping meals or over eating

Neglect of personal hygiene

Problems with sleep

What Should Parents Do?

Examine your Internet habits. Do you spend too much time in front of the screen? The habits of you and your family impact your teen. Be a good role model!
Look for the above warning signs, and take action if you feel your teen may be at risk. Seek professional help.

Always keep the computer in a common area of the home where it can be monitored by you.
DO NOT BAN THE INTERNET. Instead, work with your teen on a time schedule that feels fair to the both of you.

Encourage social activity outside of the Internet. Because chatting, emails, and other online social media make it easy for teens to stay at home, open the door to more outside activity. Plan events with friends and family.

http://www.helpyourteens.com/

Learn More

Sue Scheff: ONLINE Trends with Teens

Currect ONLINE Trends

MySpace

How It Works

MySpace is an online social networking site driven by music and housing nearly 50,000,000 members of all ages around the world. It is, in fact, the most popular website in the world. With all of the negative press surrounding the site in recent months, it is important to understand the facts, dangers and myths being passed from the media to parents and families.

Registering for a MySpace account is free and requires only a legitimate email address to activate. Currently, the registrant must be 14 years or older, however, no method is in place to verify birthdates. Upon successful registration, the new user can add a profile picture, photo album, bio and contact information along with their interests and also, where they go to school. Profiles also include a blog, or journal, where the user can write anything they wish for their friends to see.

A MySpace profile revolves around friends, or a collection of other MySpace profiles belonging to other people grouped and linked to and from the user's page. Most of the communication happening between MySpace users is with their respective friends. Finding friends is easy. Once the user has set up their profile, they are able to use the site's search function to seek out classmates, friends and celebrities by name, email or screen name. Once the user has found a profile, they can send that person a "Friend Request". The next time the person logs on to their profile, they are notified of this request and can either approve or deny it. Users can also send friend requests while browsing profile of the user they'd like to befriend, using a button in place on every profile.

Once the user has sent and received friend requests that have been approved, they have created their network. Users continue to add friends as time goes on, and can remove friends at any time. These friends are allowed to place comments on the user's profile, which are viewable to any person visiting the user's profile. They can also send private messages through the site's email system, which are seen only by the user.

While most activity on MySpace is between friends, profiles are public domain and can be viewed by any person surfing the web. Because of the obvious risks involved with this, MySpace's administration has imposed many restrictions to secure users. In order to use the site's search function, the searcher must be registered with the site. In addition, any unregistered user is may view a profile, but cannot view the user's photo album. While, as mentioned earlier, MySpace registrants must be 14 years old, users under 16 years old must have a private profile. This means that surfers who are not on the user's friend list only see the user's screen name, location and picture when visiting the profile. All other information is hidden. Of course, this security restriction is flawed - MySpace has no way of validating the actual age of the user. To provide higher security to any user, MySpace allows privacy for any profile at the user's request.

Talking to your Teen

It is a common fact that most teens, whether you know it or not, are MySpace members and actively nurture their profile. Most likely, they share contact information, pictures and thoughts with friends from school and other activities. Most, in fact, view their profile as a status symbol.

As a parent, the entire concept of MySpace may be confusing or worrisome. It is understandable that you may feel inclined to completely ban your teen from the site! The truth is, however, that with the Internet being as accessible as it is, it is possible that they will access the site from other locations, other than your home. Even if you force your teen to cancel their membership, it is entirely possible that they will create a new profile and continue to use it. As prevalent as Myspace is through the teenage culture, parents must communicate with their teens and come to a compromise.

Suggest that your teen, regardless of his/her age, keeps his/her profile set to "Private" and leave out information regarding their location.
Remind your teen that pictures uploaded to their MySpace profile can be viewed and downloaded by others. Suggest a picture limit and discuss the appropriate types of pictures he/she should be sharing with the world.
While most teens will keep their friends down to only people they know or bands/celebrities, some will allow strangers to add them as friends. Make it very clear that anyone can have a Myspace, and include fake information. Have an open conversation about Internet predators and how serious the risk is. Don't use scare tactics or manipulation; be truthful. Talk about current cases being reported through the media and how he/she feels.
Rather than spying anonymously on your child's MySpace Profile, ask him/her for permission to see it. Their privacy is very important to them, and they will feel violated if you come to them with print outs of their comments and blogs. Voice your concerns; try to explain your fears of the risks involved. If they understand your position, they may be more inclined to prove that they are being careful and safe.

If problems still occur, require your teen to give you access to their account login and password.

Chat Rooms and Message Boards

Today's Internet is becoming more and more interactive. Most television stations, celebrities and musicians have websites with pictures, information and more importantly, message board communities. Sue Scheff and other parents at P.U.R.E. have also met parents who have used message boards to communicate with other parents.

In the early days of the Internet, many people used chat rooms to message each other nearly instantly. Now that Instant Messenger services such as AIM, MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger are available, chat rooms have become nearly extinct.

Message boards are different from chat rooms. In a chat room, users register and talk to other users in nearly real time through an interactive client on a website dedicated to only chatting. A message board is a part of a larger site, such as the website for TV channel MTV, and consists of a forum for registered users to leave messages, or posts about the site's subject. These messages do not use an interactive client for real time display and reply, but instead work as a virtual cork board for messages to be left, read, and replied to by other users. In both cases, anyone can register for an account with little to no validation, and any member can communicate with any member.

Many teens enjoy visiting message boards on the sites of their favorite celebrities, and participate in conversation with other fans. Most message boards have moderators; hired by the site's administrators to "police" the behavior of posters. These moderators are able to delete inappropriate posts and ban violating members.

Instant Messaging Clients

Many teens today are using Instant Messaging Clients, interactive, real time chatting interfaces, which are downloaded and accessed directly from the computer's hard drive. There are 6 main companies providing this service: Microsoft (MSN Instant Messenger), AOL (AIM Instant Messenger) Yahoo (Yahoo Instant Messenger), Skype, ICQ and Google (Gmail email messenger). In any case, the client can be logged in to with the user's ID and password. They can then send "instant messages" back and forth between friends, who must be added by the user.

Because these clients are contained on your home computer, it is easy to keep an eye on your teen's activity. Often, teens will use instant messengers to talk with their friends much like they would over the telephone. They can talk to many other users at the same time, and have conversations between groups of people. It is generally safe, especially when the computer is kept in a visible and safe place. Parents who are concerned about teens using instant messengers while they are home alone might allow the installation of the software only on the computer's administrative account, which can be password protected.

Online Video Gaming

As more and more American households purchase home computers and game systems such as the Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, kids, teens and parents are getting in to gaming. For many families, game systems are shared and can be an enjoyable family activity. Some teens enjoy spending time with brain-intensive games made for solo play. With the new generation of gaming systems and PC's, players are even able to log on to the Internet and play games with fellow gaming strangers around the world. While many are able to have healthy relationships with video games, too many teens are finding themselves stuck inside this virtual reality, especially when it comes to online, multi-player games.

Because there have been numerous articles and websites published on the popular games out today, we won't go in to details on titles here. If you are looking for information on certain games, we suggest Ask About Games , a site complied of rating and game information just for parents.

Parents Universal Resource Experts (Sue Scheff) Teen Internet Safety

By Connect with Kids

Caught in the Web

Once they turn 12 kids think they know just about everything, so how do you teach them about teenage Internet safety? With hundreds of teen chat rooms online, there really is no way to guarantee Internet safety for teenagers. Go into one and within minutes, someone will type a message like: “How old are you?” “Where do you live?” “Are your parents home?”

Can you really know who’s talking to your kids online? And what information are your children sharing? The Internet offers amazing advantages, but it also gives predators a new way to find and stalk their victims. And kids are using technology to “cyberbully” - sending malicious emails and harassing Instant Messages, creating a whole new area of concern when it comes to teenage Internet safety.

Real-Life Stories Teach Internet Safety for Teenagers

Caught in the Web, tells the true story of 13-year-old Kylie Taylor, who met a 47-year old man in a chat room and agreed to meet him – a move that nearly cost Kylie her life. You’ll also hear about teenage Internet safety from reformed cyber predators, their victims and learn what parents can do about kids sending abusive messages online.

Watch Caught in the Web with your family, so you can teach your children about the devastating effects of cyberbullying. Hear from experts about the best ways to improve Internet safety for kids. And learn the meaning of “online lingo” that could save your child’s life.

Order Caught in the Web today to learn what you can do about teenage Internet safety.