Transcript Protecting your Kids on-Line

Protecting your Kids onLine
A Summary of a presentation by Samantha Wilson,
President of Kidproof Canada
And
Randi Micucci, MSN Product Manager
www.kidproofcanada.com
What is the internet?
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A place, not a
thing
Public
Unmonitored
What does
research say?
What are the Risks?
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Inappropriate Material
• Sexual, adult, or racist content
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Unwanted interaction with other kids or adults
(bullying, harassing, deception, criminals)
Disclosure of personal information
Viruses
Overabundance of “simulated” life experiences –
children who spend too much time on-line are
likely not enjoying enough:
• physical activity, peer to peer interaction, reading,
creating, parent to child interaction, quiet time
What do our kids use the internet
for?
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Entertainment
• Play games, download music, write a blog,
create personal webspace (this can be
controlled), internet radio
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Education
• Homework, research, general interest
• Requires support – validity of information?
Thinking critically is important
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Communication
Grade 4
Most F requent On-Line Activ ity - Gr 4
Ho m e wo rk
Activity
MSN
Me sse nge r
Do wnlo a d
Music
Surfing
Em a il
O n-line
Ga m e s
0
10
20
30
Frequency
40
50
N=66
Grade 5
Most Frequent On-Line Activity
Homework
Activity
MSN Messenger
Download Music
Surfing
Email
On-line Games
0
5
10
15
Frequency
20
25
N=51
Grade 6
Most Frequent On-Line Activity
Homework
Activity
MSN
Messenger
Download
Music
Surfing
Email
On-line
Games
0
5
10
15
Frequency
20
25
N=47
Entertainment
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Some on-line games Edgemont
students are playing • Neopets, Rune Scape, Battle of the Lord
of the Rings, Addicting Games, Pac Man,
Driver’s Ed., Ultimate Flash Sonic, Curve
Ball …
Communication
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A language unique to on-line
communication
www.netlingo.com
• F2f
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Face to face
• NP
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Nosey parent
• ILU or ILY
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I love you
Chat Rooms
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Moderated
• These are somewhat safe in that someone is
watching language. However, this can be
misleading in that people can still misrepresent themselves or lure kids
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Un-moderated
• Anonymous, not-trackable
• These are the most dangerous
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Eg. www.nexopia.com
www.teenspot.com
www.meetmeinto.com
MSN Instant Messenger
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This is different than chat rooms, but still
requires caution and monitoring – no
moderator
This is a program on your windows
computer. Kids add contacts and give
permission for people to be on their
contact or buddy list.
Others can request to be added to your
buddy list
You can adjust safety settings to enable all
messages to be saved (kids can access
this)
Warning Signs
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Prolonged period of time on-line
Loss of sleep – goes on-line in middle of night
Quickly closes down a computer window when
you walk in the room
Vague when confronted
Uses internet lingo
Find pornography on their computer
Using someone else’s email
Receive unknown packages
Find long distance numbers
Become withdrawn from family and friends
Cutting off their access
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Through her experiences, this is an
ineffective way to protect our children
They will find ways to get on-line (friend’s
house, hack through your security system
or password, library, school…)
She recommends not doing this
What to do???
How to start?
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Start talking about how the internet is a
place - use this analogy often
Would you leave your child alone in a
place which is:
• Public?
• Unfamiliar to you?
• Unsupervised?
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What tools would you provide your kids
when they are out in public?
What to Do
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Pay attention to what your kids do and
whom they meet on-line
Let your kids be the teachers (learn what
they are doing)
Talk with your kids about the potential
dangers
Put computer in a central place
Consider letting your children only use the
internet when you are at home
Limit amount of time on computers
(especially TV!)
AGE 8-18
Taken from: http://www.childrennow.org/assets/pdf/issues_media_iadbrief_2005.pdf
Note: Due to overlapping media use, these figures cannot be summed.
Average times are among all young people, not just those who used a
particular media that day.
Kaiser Family Foundation, Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-Olds
(Menlo Park: Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005).
Taken from: http://www.childrennow.org/assets/pdf/issues_media_iadbrief_2005.pdf
Note: Average is among all children, across all days of the week, including those who don’t do certain activities
at all.
Kaiser Family Foundation, Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers
(Menlo Park: Kaiser Family Foundation, 2003).
More What to Do
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Watch for signs of bullying
Become familiar with video game ratings
Stress keeping personal information private
Set clear rules for use of the internet
• Never meet an Internet “friend” in person
• Don’t open attachments, click links, or
share music of files with strangers
• Treat others with respect
• Use caution when accepting new members
on your contact list (MSN)
Get help from technology (parental control
software)
Even more What to do
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Forbid un-moderated chat rooms
Regularly check who is on your child’s buddy list (in MSN)
Save all conversations (in MSN)
If you suspect your child is involved in a harmful situation,
contact the 911 of the Internet:
www.cybertip.ca
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Interview with Samantha Wilson
Some websites for you and your child
(taken from “Media Awareness Network”)
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Privacy Playground: The First Adventure of the Three
Little CyberPigs (~8-10) - online marketing, and about
protecting their privacy
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CyberSense and Nonsense: The Second Adventure of
The Three CyberPigs (~9-12) - explore the world of chat
rooms and learn to distinguish between fact and fiction, and
to detect bias and harmful stereotyping in online content
Jo Cool or Jo Fool (~12-14) - takes students through a
series of mock sites that test their savvy surfing skills.
Allies and Aliens:
A Mission in Critical Thinking (~13-15) - assess the
varying degrees of prejudice, misinformation, and hate
propaganda
Cyberbullying
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Some forms of cyberbullying are considered criminal acts.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, it is a crime to
communicate repeatedly with someone if your communication
causes them to fear for their own safety or the safety of
others.
It is also a crime to publish a “defamatory libel”, writing
something that is designed to insult a person or likely to hurt
a person’s reputation by exposing him or her to hatred,
contempt or ridicule.
A cyberbully may also be violating the Canadian Human
Rights Act, if he or she spreads hate or discrimination based
on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex,
sexual orientation, marital status, family status or disability.
Do not erase or delete messages from cyberbullies (keep as
evidence – “printscreen”)
Never send a message when you’re feeling angry or upset (it
is now in print and can be spread readily)
Never give out personal information or your password
Report it to the police – you don’t need proof!
Cyberbulling Resources
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Bullying.org
•Kids can contribute stories,
poems, pictures, chat
•Moderated
•Support for student victims of
bullying
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Cyberbullying Website
Media Awareness Website
What parents can do with MSN
1.
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Ask to see their contact list
Check who has them on their list
(go to “Tools”, “Options”, “Privacy”,
“View”)
Change settings to retain message
history (Go to “Options”,
“Messages”, Turn “On”)
For more information
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www.kidproofcanada.com
www.cybertip.ca
http://safety.sympatico.msn.ca/
www.bewebaware.ca
www.bullying.org
www.cyberbullying.ca