Keeping Kids Safe on the Internet

Keeping Kids Safe on the Internet : 

Keeping Kids Safe on the Internet By Irene E. McDermott Librarian, Crowell Public Library IMcDermott@CityofSanMarino.org Author, Internet Book of Life (2011)

Look! I’m talking to strangers! : 

And this stranger wants to talk about Topic A… Look! I’m talking to strangers!

What Are the Dangers of the Internet for Children? : 

Pornography Predators Paying to play games Commercialism Tracking Bullying Privacy: Revealing too much information What Are the Dangers of the Internet for Children?

Avoiding Pornography : 

Make a kid-friendly site your home page KidsClick http://www.kidsclick.org Sites chosen by librarians ipl2 For Kids http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace Great homework starting place Yahoo! Kids http://kids.yahoo.com/ Lots of movie and kids show info Avoiding Pornography

Avoiding Pornography : 

Buy blocking software, about $40 NetNanny http://www.netnanny.com/ CyberPatrol http://www.cyberpatrol.com/ Avoiding Pornography

Use Sites’ Filter Tools : 

Google Safe Search Filters explicit results Log in to Google Click on Settings Choose “Lock SafeSearch” to maintain strictest setting Use Sites’ Filter Tools

Use Sites’ Filter Tools : 

YouTube.com Safety Mode Blocks content others have labeled as explicit. Set at bottom of page. Use Sites’ Filter Tools

Other Tips : 

Put the family computer in the living room where everyone can see it. Limit kids’ time online. Be as savvy about the Web as your kids are. Explore the sites that your kids visit. Learn the software. Know your children’s online friends. Other Tips

Online Worlds and Money : 

Periodic reinforcement makes kids addicted to online “worlds.” Earn points and “money,” or pay real money to skip ahead. Like Farmville. Club Penguin Neopets Dizzywood WeeWorld Webkinz Online Worlds and Money

Tracking : 

Tracking Children’s sites often download “cookies” or tracking software to keep tabs on browsing behavior. Concern? Targeted ads, privacy violation. After internet session, clear “cookies” and browsing history. Use ad blocking software. Adblock Plus for Firefox http://adblockplus.org/en/

How to Protect Your Child’s Privacy Online : 

Wall Street Journal September 17, 2010 How to Protect Your Child’s Privacy Online

Protecting Privacy : 

Kids tend to share passwords. What happens on Facebook goes everywhere! (BTW, you are supposed to be 13 to get a Facebook account.) Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPA) prohibits website operators from collecting information from children under 13 without parental consent. Protecting Privacy

Manage Children’s Internet Access : 

Establish clear online behavior guidelines for your children. Tell them never to give out their phone number, address, e-mail address, or online password. Have them agree to sign a document such as “Kids Rules for Online Safety" http://www.safekids.com/kids-rules-for-online-safety/ Post this document near the computer. Manage Children’s Internet Access

Use Critical Thinking to Judge Websites : 

Use Critical Thinking to Judge Websites

Five Quality Points : 

Five Quality Points Authority: What are the author's credentials? Currency: Is the page up-to-date?           Accuracy/Bias: Hidden agenda?                           Commercialism: Are they trying to sell something? Scope/Coverage: Does the information answer your question--and in enough depth?

Advice for Kid Safety : 

Connect Safely http://www.connectsafely.org/ Larry Magid of SafeKids.com and Anne Collier of NetFamilyNews.org co-direct this organization which offers up-to-date, easy to follow sensible advice about establishing a family tech policy, for instance.   Yahoo! Safely http://safely.yahoo.com Yahoo! teaches kids, teens, and parents techniques for staying away from predators and protecting privacy in the world of social networking. Advice for Kid Safety

Advice for Kid Safety : 

Internet Safety http://www.brainpopjr.com/health/besafe/internetsafety/ Gives advice to children about what to do if they receive a message from somewhat they don’t know. It also advises kids how to choose strong passwords and to avoid downloading programs without permission.   Safekids.com http://www.safekids.com Magid writes, “In this Web 2.0 world, kids aren’t just consuming media, they’re creating it and they have collectively embraced social media as a part of their lives. They don’t go online; they are online–whether on a PC, a mobile device, a gaming console, or whatever comes next.” Magid points out that the biggest threats to kids online come from themselves, when they disclose too much information, and their peers, who may bully them. Advice for Kid Safety

Technology Is A Mirror : 

“The thing about this digital age is that it's holding up a very big, society-wide mirror to our faces nearly 24/7,” writes Anne Collier on her NetFamily News blog [http://www.netfamilynews.org/2010/04/citizenship-social-web-mirror-in-our.html]. In other words, technology is never the problem, it simply shows us our problems, which are really behavioral and interpersonal. Technology Is A Mirror

Technology Is A Mirror : 

“The central task of citizenship is learning how to be good to one another," writes Collier. “Let's do ourselves and our children a favor and not make it one bit more complicated than that.” Technology Is A Mirror

Questions? : 

Questions?

Useful links : 

Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture http://www.newmedialiteracies.org/files/working/NMLWhitePaper.pdf Teenage social media butterflies may not be such a bad idea http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/18/science/la-sci-socially-connected-kids-20100518 Take Control Of Your Facebook Privacy With PrivacyDefender http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/control-facebook-privacy-privacydefender/ Useful links