Teenagers and The Internet Ms Julie Clune Saint Ignatius’ College

What are the issues?  Spending a lot of time online  Being on MSN whilst studying  Access to inappropriate material either on web sites or through SPAM  Downloading harmful files  Advertising themselves inappropriately  Making friends with the wrong people online  Bullying

Spending a lot of time online  Limit the number of hours your children are online for.  Purchase control software that blocks them out.  Get your children involve in a range of other activities such as sport, mind games, helping around the home

What does MSN look like?

Being on MSN whilst studying  MSN work very well. That is why it is popular.  It can be used by your children to clarify homework concerns.  Your children are likely to have multiple conversations going at once.  Very little actual homework can be done when there are multiple conversations happening.

Access to inappropriate material either on web sites or through SPAM

 Keep your computer software up to date with the latest patches. (Tuesdays in particular)  Keep Spyware and Anti-virus software up to date. Purchase reliable versions.  Investigate Filtering software    Scan your computers every day

Access to inappropriate material either on web sites or through SPAM  Don’t click on a link in an , unless you know where it will go.  Never enter your password for any financial institution unless it is a web site you know to be authentic.  Maintain a watch over the History log.  Enable your children to inform you they come across material that is inappropriate.

Downloading harmful files  Know what your children are downloading.  Control their access to “agreed on” sites.  Supervise the process with them so they don’t make mistakes.  Set Traffic Limits

Advertising themselves inappropriately  Blogging  Chat room   MSN  Web Pages  You Tube  Avatars  And what ever comes next…

Advertising themselves inappropriately  Don’t use nicknames which are unsuitable for their age group, in particular provocative terms.  Don’t include personal information.  Don’t include content inappropriate for general display.  Don’t add photos that are of good digital quality.  Don’t swear, put people down or spread rumours about others.  Be open about the content with parents

MySpace or Wikis

Search possibilities

Making friends with the wrong people online  Don’t assume every person you meet online is telling you the truth. Believe the opposite.  Don’t arrange to meet new online friends.  Only invite people you’ve met in personal to chat with you online.  Don’t give away personal information.  Block people you don’t know who have joined via other people’s conversations.  Don’t delete your chat logs.

Bullying  New technologies expand the opportunities to connect with people in both positive and negative ways.  Online bullying can be spread faster than in person.  Never share you password.  Comments or photographs can be easily copied and distributed in the online environment.  Libel laws as well as harassment laws cover the new technologies.

What can you do?  Being online brings the world to your home.  Imagine all of the things that go on in the world and ask yourself "How much does my child need to be exposed to?"  Children are used to boundaries. Going online shouldn't be any different.

In the real world does your child;  Go to play at a friend’s house unsupervised?  Go to Rundle mall unsupervised?  Go to Hindley Street unsupervised?  Go to the beach unsupervised?  Go to the show unsupervised?  Go overseas unsupervised?  Talk to strangers unsupervised?  Share personal information to people they've just met?

How do you currently manage these risks?  You educate yourself about the dangers or you are already aware of them.  You go with them so that they can experience new places safely with you looking out for the dangers.  You explain what those dangers are.  You give them strategies to deal with the temptation or peer pressure to ignore your instructions about the dangers.  You outline the consequences of not heeding your advice.  You teach them how to treat others

Terms you need to know  Adware  Blocking  Blogging  Chat logs  Cookie  Hacking  Malware  Keylogger  MySpace  Patches  Phishing  RSS Feeds  Sharing Folders  Spoof  Spyware  Trojan  Virus  Wireless  Wiki  Worm

Where do you go from here?  Educate yourself about , blogging, chat lines, MSN, MySpace, Gaming  NetGuide magazine, MSN Safety Guides  Security Patches  Antivirus updates  Establish and maintain trusting relationships  Consider installing Parental Control software  Don’t be an ostrich