1. The electronic World of kids: the Parent connection
Educational Development Services, LLC
Deborah McCoy

2. Definitions
Bullying is defined as an intentional electronic, written, verbal or physical act that is directed at a student or students, that is severe, persistent or pervasive, and that interferes with a student’s education.
Electronic bullying is being cruel to others by sending or posting harmful material using the Internet or cell phone. It is essentially bullying by electronic means.

3. Technology used: Sending vicious or threatening emails;
Creating web sites that have stories, pictures and/or jokes ridiculing others;
Posting pictures of others online with hateful phrases or questions attached to them;
Using someone else’s to send derogatory s to others;
Using IM tools to harass others.

4. Research
Conducted by the Pew Institute, Common Sense Media & Center for the Prevention of Teen Pregnancy;
Youth use a variety of media to communicate with one another.

5. Research
50% of 43,321 surveyed HS students reported engaging in bullying;
42% said they used racial slurs or insults;
U.S. teens send and receive an average of 2,000 texts per month; some average 5,000 per month;
More than 35% of teens surveyed reported using a cell phone to cheat in school;
33% of teens use electronics as the main way to communicate with friends;

6. Research
46% reported they were bullied, teased or taunted in a way that seriously upset them
36% of teens surveyed say that downloading a paper from the Internet to turn in is “not a serious cheating offense
89% of sexual solicitations are made either in chat rooms through IM;
Only 5% of parents knew the lingo their children used in their electronic communication.

7. Decipher this… 19/m/ca watz ur n/a/s/l snd m ur p# we can pRt! G2g4n
Em wtfb! ur so nt mbf 182!

8. Admissions & Employment
College Admissions Officers
Employers
Court rooms

9. College Admissions Officers
College admissions officers routinely check out the Facebook and MySpace sites of applicants;
What they discover on those social networking sites impact their decisions regarding admission and money;
Some schools continue monitoring sites after admission, and have rescinded students’ acceptance.

10. Employers
86% of HR officers report utilizing a candidate’s online reputation to make a decision about hiring;
HR officers say they conduct deeper searches than most candidates are aware of and feel justified in doing so;
Good online reputations matter to recruiters and impact their decisions on hiring.

11. Court Rooms Unless sealed, court records are public records;
Those public court records (even those of juveniles) can be made available to anyone by companies that specialize in that information;
In addition to other charges, adolescents are now finding themselves charged with “defamation of character” in the sharing of nude, or semi-nude photo sharing;
If convicted, makes them more likely to be sued civilly for the same thing.

12. Threats
Other forms of electronic speech can get you in trouble in school and with law enforcement:
Making threats to another student and/or their property.
Even if the threat is sent by text, if it is found to be a “true threat”, it is not protected speech.

13. Sexting
Generally considered to be the act of sending sexually explicit messages and/or nude or semi-nude photos electronically of youth under the age of 18.
Sexting most commonly occurs through texting, , MySpace, Facebook, etc.

14. Sexting
Anyone sending nude or semi-nude images of children can be charged and convicted of “distribution of child pornography”, even if the sender is the creator of the image.
If these images are kept by the receivers, they can be charged and convicted of “possession of child pornography”.

15. Sexting
If the receiver of the images keeps and further distributes those images, they can be charged with and convicted of “possession and distribution of child pornography”.
There are no juvenile charges for possession & distribution of child pornography.

16. Realities of Electronic Bullying
Electronic bullying flourishes in middle-school, but the average age of onset is age 9, predominantly among girls;
Anonymity and lack of adult involvement allows for particularly egregious electronic bullying;
Allows good kids to engage in bad behavior.

17. Electronic Bullying 42% of kids report being bullied electronically;
53% of kids admit having said mean or hurtful things to another person electronically;
Electronic bullying follows you virtually everywhere you go – there is no safe haven.

18. Cyber-bullying & the Law
If parents and schools won’t hold students accountable for bullying, law enforcement & the courts will;
Electronic harassment;
Stalking;
Terroristic threats;
Defamatory speech;
Criminal conduct via communication device.

19. No Privacy There is no such thing as privacy in the electronic world.
Even private spaces on MySpace, etc., are accessible.
All those sites are public sites.
Electronic privacy is an illusion and definitely not a reality.

20. Archived Sites
Archived web sites are essentially digital libraries of Internet sites
Archived sites use web crawlers (web spiders, web robots or “bots”) that browse the Internet in a methodical, automated manner.
The bots download snapshots from the Internet, all day, every day.

21. Archived Sites
If you have space on MySpace, Facebook, etc., snapshots of that space may be stored in an archived site.
Any of your web pages may be saved on an archive site.
There is no way to remove a page that has been downloaded onto an archive site.
Pages are archived forever.

22. Answer this:
How can you best know what is going on with a child’s electronic life?
Is it an invasion of privacy to monitor a child’s online life?

23. Managing their Electronic World
Learn, learn, learn about your kids’ electronic world.
Manage your child’s electronic life as you do other aspects of their life – know where they are going, who they are spending time with, and what they are doing there.
Discuss the electronic world’s lack of privacy often with your child.

24. Managing their Electronic World
Have periodic discussions with your child about sexting and its ramifications;
Learn all your child’s user-names and passwords to their accounts;
Require that all cell phones be charged overnight in a common area of your home or even your bederoom;
When their phones are charging, periodically check their texts.

25. Managing their Electronic World
Do not allow your child to keep their computer or TV in their bedroom, ever;
Think through your child’s technology needs before giving them the latest and greatest;
Ensure your child knows what your expectations are for their electronic behavior. Be ready to hold them accountable for that behavior.

26. Always remember this: the electronic world is NOT like Vegas
Always remember this: the electronic world is NOT like Vegas. What goes on in the electronic world never stays there – it moves, can change, and will remain forever. Choices made now can haunt for decades to come.