Tips and Information for Parents Internet Safety Tips and Information for Parents Presented by Shaun Anderson March 1, 2016

What can you do to help protect your child online?

Parents and Guardians…stay informed! Stay in the KNOW!!!!!!!

Pay attention to what your child does on the internet because if you don’t… SOMEONE ELSE WILL!

Internet Safety Concerns Online Predators Cyberbullying Exposure to Inappropriate Materials

Cyberbullying

Kids who are being cyberbullied are often bullied in person as well Kids who are being cyberbullied are often bullied in person as well. Additionally, kids who are cyberbullied have a harder time getting away from the behavior. Cyberbullying can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and reach a kid even when he or she is alone. It can happen any time of the day or night. Cyberbullying messages and images can be posted anonymously and distributed quickly to a very wide audience. It can be difficult and sometimes impossible to trace the source. Deleting inappropriate or harassing messages, texts, and pictures is extremely difficult after they have been posted or sent.

Cyberbullying Statistics (“2015 Cyberbullying Data”, 2015)

Exposure to Inappropriate Materials

Do not forget… Though most digital experiences are positive and uplifting, there are sites that harm rather than help. These types of sites are degrading and desensitizing, and increase feelings of fear and anxiety. Keeping your child’s safety in mind, it is crucial to maintain open communication with your child about his/her emotional health.

Types of inappropriate material your child may be exposed to: Hate or racist websites Sexual explicit content graphic violence Information about satanic or cult groups Recipes for making bombs or other explosives Promotional material about tobacco, alcohol, or drugs

Exposure to Inappropriate Materials Statistics 42.1% of kids admit they have seen online porn. One in 16 have been exposed to hardcore pornography. One in 12 have exchanged messages with sexual content to other people, while one in 25 have sent graphic photos of themselves. 25% of children get away with pretending to be older to get an account online. One in 20 children admitted arranging a secret meeting with someone they met online. Almost three in 10 parents (29%) let their kids use the internet without any restrictions or supervision. (“5 Scary Statistics”, 2015)

Internet Predators

About Sexual Predators… They look for children that are emotionally vulnerable which can be related to personal issues derived from problems at school or home. They use these issues to befriend the victim and empathize with them while building a pseudo friendship and trust. Sexual predators do exist and are a very real threat. They target both boys and girls of all ages and use the anonymity of the Internet to their advantage since they can be whomever they want. Many are master manipulators with skills that can cripple any child's sense of awareness. This is known as the grooming process and predators look for children that are more technically savvy than their parents. If a child indicates frustration with parents or teachers at school the predator might suggest the child's parents are way too strict or their teacher is being unfair and this plays right into the adolescent mind as they look for people to verify their feelings. (Sexual Predators, n.d.)

Internet Predators Statistics One in five U.S. teenagers who regularly log on to the Internet says they have received an unwanted sexual solicitation via the Web. Solicitations were defined as requests to engage in sexual activities or sexual talk, or to give out personal sexual information. (only 25% of those told a parent)  Internet sexual predators tend to fall between the ages of 18 and 55, although some are older or younger. Their targets tend to be between the ages of 11 and 15.  In 100% of the cases, teens that are the victims of sexual predators have gone willingly to meet with them. There are 799,041 Registered Sex Offenders in the United States (2015). Teens are willing to meet with strangers: 16 percent of teens considered meeting someone they've only talked to online and 8 percent have actually met someone they only knew online. 33% of teens are Facebook friends with other people they have not met in person. (“Online Predators”, 2015)

Internet Safety Tips

For a list of tips the parents should follow to keep children safe online visit the National Crime Prevention Council.

Links to Tutorials WebWise for Parents Internet Safety Steps to Good Digital Parenting

NO INTERNET PREDATORS

Sources 5 scary statistics about internet safety - Shared Hope International. (2013). Retrieved from http://sharedhope.org/2013/08/07/5-scary-statistics- about-children-on-the-internet/ Online predators - Statistics. (2015). Retrieved from http://puresight.com/Pedophiles/Online-Predators/online- predators-statistics.html#sthash.4ehtiuJR.dpuf Sexual predators online. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.protectkids.com/dangers/onlinepred.htm 2015 cyberbullying data - Cyberbullying research center. (2015). Retrieved from http://cyberbullying.org/2015-data/