1. Cyber and Tech Safety
What are the dangers? How to help your child navigate through this digital age?

2. General Information

3. Popular Social Media and Networking Sites

4. Online Statistics
Social media services like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat require account holders to be at least 13 years-old. According to The Social Age Study by knowthenet.org.uk, approximately 59% of children have already used a social network by the time they are 10. Facebook has the most users under the age of 13— 52% of 8 to 16-year-olds admit they ignore Facebook’s age restriction.
24% of 13 to 18 year olds suffer online trolling
Four in five have seen or heard online hate in last year
75% of 10 to 12-year-olds use social media despite the age limit of % use Facebook and 41 per cent use Instagram
One in ten 16 to 19-year-olds know someone who has engaged in a potentially illegal online activity
Almost half of 10 to 18-year-olds say social media companies don't take bullying seriously enough

5. Age Restrictions
The minimum age to open an account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Kik, and Snapchat is 13. For Vine, Tinder and Yik Yak it’s 17. YouTube requires account holders to be 18, but a 13-year-old can sign up with a parent’s permission. Despite these clearly stated and published age restrictions, large and growing numbers of children 12 and under are using social media networks, often with their parent’s knowledge and consent.
In short, as a society we have largely given up, giving age restrictions a collective shrug and “so what?” But, guess what? Age does matter, and here’s why:
Children’s personal information is at risk. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) passed in protects every child under the age of 13. The Act requires that operators of websites and online services provide notice and obtain permission from a child’s parents before collecting personal information — such as name, address, phone number and screen name — from that child. Companies also cannot collect geolocation data that could identify the city street, and any image, video or audio files containing the child’s image or voice. Anything that can identify what the child is using, like cookies, IP addresses or the unique device identifier (UDID) for mobile devices is restricted by COPPA. But COPPA doesn’t work if a 9-year-old claims they are 13. When a social network account is created for a child under 13, or when a child uses a false birthdate, this Federal law cannot protect their personal information from being collected and shared with third party advertisers.
Children under 13 don’t have the hardware upstairs to make smart decisions online. Just because kids seem tech-savvy at increasingly younger ages, doesn’t necessarily mean that their brains are developing at the same rate as their digital acumen. Research shows that it takes children about 12 years to fully develop the cognitive structures that enable them to engage in ethical thinking. Before 12 it’s difficult, if not impossible, for a child to fully grasp the impact of their actions upon others, online or otherwise. Yet young children are increasingly joining social networking sites, sometimes even putting themselves in harm’s way by becoming victims of online harassment, solicitation, and cyber-bullying before they are ready to respond appropriately.
Lying is just plain wrong. Living in a civilized society means we have some implicit agreements: we take turns, play fair, stop at red lights, and hold the door open for old ladies. And we tell the truth. Sure, giving a fake birthdate to Facebook seems like a harmless white lie, but it’s a lie nonetheless. I’d like to believe we can all agree that honesty and truthfulness, online and off, is important.

6. Social Media and Apps and Games

7. FACEBOOK An online social media and social networking service
Since 2006, anyone age 13 and older has been allowed to become a registered user of Facebook, though variations exist in the minimum age requirement, depending on applicable local laws
Facebook may be accessed by a large range of desktops, laptops, tablet computers, and smartphones over the Internet and mobile networks. After registering to use the site, users can create a user profile indicating their name, occupation, schools attended and so on. Users can add other users as "friends", exchange messages, post status updates and digital photos, share digital videos and links, use various software applications ("apps"), and receive notifications when others update their profiles or make posts.
Additionally, users may join common-interest user groups organized by workplace, school, hobbies or other topics, and categorize their friends into lists such as "People From Work" or "Close Friends". In groups, editors can pin posts to top. Additionally, users can complain about or block unpleasant people. Because of the large volume of data that users submit to the service, Facebook has come under scrutiny for its privacy policies.

8. Twitter
Online news and social networking service where users post and read short 140-character messages called "tweets". Registered users can post and read tweets, but those who are unregistered can only read them. Users access Twitter through the website interface, SMS or mobile device app.
Tweets are publicly visible by default, but senders can restrict message delivery to just their followers. Users can tweet via the Twitter website, compatible external applications (such as for smartphones), or by Short Message Service (SMS) available in certain countries. Users may subscribe to other users' tweets—this is known as "following" and subscribers are known as "followers" or "tweeps", a portmanteau of Twitter and peeps. Individual tweets can be forwarded by other users to their own feed, a process known as a "retweet". Users can also "like" (formerly "favorite") individual tweets. Twitter allows users to update their profile via their mobile phone either by text messaging or by apps released for certain smartphones and tablets.

9. INSTAGRAM
Online mobile photo-sharing, video-sharing, and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, and share them either publicly or privately on the app, as well as through a variety of other social networking platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Flickr.
Users can upload photographs and short videos, follow other users' feeds and geotag images with longitude and latitude coordinates, or the name of a location.

10. SNAPCHAT Image messaging and multimedia mobile application
Primarily used for creating multimedia messages referred to as "snaps"; snaps can consist of a photo or a short video, and can be edited to include filters and effects, text captions, and drawings. "Geofilters" allows special graphical overlays to be available if the user is within a certain geographical location, such as a city, event, or destination. The "Lens" feature allows users to add real-time effects into their snaps by using face detection technology which is activated by long-pressing on a face within the viewfinder.
Snaps can be directed privately to selected contacts, or to a semi-public "Story". The private message photo snaps can be viewed for a user-specified length of time (1 to 10 seconds as determined by the sender) before they become inaccessible. Users were previously required to hold down on the screen in order to view a snap; this behavior was removed in July The requirement to hold on the screen was intended to frustrate the ability to take screenshots of snaps; the Snapchat app does not prevent screenshots from being taken, but can notify the sender if it detects that it has been saved. However, these notifications can be bypassed through either unauthorized modifications to the app or by obtaining the image through external means. One snap per- day can be replayed for free; additional replays can be purchased using microtransactions.
Friends can be added via usernames and phone contacts, using customizable "Snapcodes", or through the "Add Nearby" function, which scans for users near their location who are also in the Add Nearby menu.[Snapchat is intended to counteract the trend of users being compelled to manage an idealized online identity of themselves, which he says has "taken all of the fun out of communicating".
In July 2016, Snapchat introduced a new, optional feature known as "Memories". Memories allows snaps and story posts to be saved into a private storage area, where they can be viewed alongside other photos stored on the device, as well as edited and published as snaps, story posts, or messages. Content can be searched by date or using a local object recognition system. Snaps accessible within Memories can additionally be placed into a "My Eyes Only" area that is locked with a PIN. Snapchat has stated that the Memories feature was inspired by the practice of manually scrolling through photos on a phone to show them to others.

11. KIK MESSENGER (KIK)
Instant messenger software application (app) for mobile devices from the Canadian company Kik Interactive, available free of charge on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone operating systems.
Kik is known for its features preserving users' anonymity, such as allowing users to register without providing a telephone number, and preventing users from being located on the service (including by the company itself) through any information other than their chosen username.
To register for the Kik service, a user must enter a first and last name, address, and birth date (which, as of February 2016, must show that the user is at least 13 years old), and select a username. Users' names and birth dates are not verified, allowing users to misrepresent their identity and/or age if they so choose.

12. Anonymous Apps
Yik Yak allows users to anonymously create and view “yaks” within a 10-mile radius. Users can contribute to the content by writing, responding and up- or down-voting “yaks.” The app targets college campuses as their go-to source for news and gossip.
After School is an iOS and Android social network mobile application that allows users in a defined network, currently high schools, to share anonymous text-based posts and images with others. As of July 2016, After School had users at more than 20,000 American high schools.The entire app revolves around anonymous and private message boards for any given school. Messages can take the form of videos, pictures, or regular text. Anyone in a school can see all the messages posted, and users are not identifiable in any way unless they reveal personal details within a message.
Whisper is an anonymous social confessional app intended for 17 and up in age that allows users to post whatever is on their minds. Allows users to send messages anonymously, and to receive replies. Users post messages, known as "whispers," which are displayed as text superimposed over an image automatically retrieved from Whisper's own search engine or uploaded by the user.
Ask.fm is a social network where members interact by inviting others to ask anonymous questions.

13. Private Vault Apps/Ghost Apps
Ghost apps, or media vault apps, are gaining popularity but could cause problems for kids. The apps sometimes look inconspicuous and ordinary, like a calculator app, but when you put in a passcode it reveals a secret vault that lets people hide videos and pictures.
Keep Safe Private Photo Vault is one of many new “secret vault” type apps making their way through the app stores of Apple and Android. This app is advertised as a way to keep photos and videos safe behind a private PIN and not post them on your public photo roll.The app is easy enough to identify however, if you share iCloud accounts or check your child’s photo roll regularly, you won’t notice it as photos don’t appear there. While hiding photos is one issue, our concern is with the “Invite friends” premium feature. With this enabled, kids can potentially share photos privately without anyone knowing. One additional premium feature is called “Secret Door”. This allows you to make the app look like another app. Pressing and holding down on the “fake” app enables the PIN pad.
If you don’t see the app, but suspect it may have been downloaded, you can also check in the Updates section of the App Store under “Purchased” on your child’s phone. Any apps ever downloaded are stored in there.
Additionally, there are apps that are disguised as a calculator or a folder on the device, so it’s becoming harder to find these. Two such apps include Fake Calculator and Best Secret Folder.

14. Video Games/Online Gaming
Violence
Sexual content including: pornography embedded in games (i.e., Grand Theft Auto) and virtual sex games (allows users to act out sexual fantasies and to participate in voyeuristic sex)
Predators
Cyberbullies
Privacy issues
Age-appropriate content
Webcams
Voice-masking Technology

15. Cyber and Technology Dangers

16. Teens share a lot of information online

17. Online Predators Predators will:
Prey on teen’s desire for romance, adventure, and sexual information
Develop trust and secrecy: manipulate child by listening to and sympathizing with child’s problems and insecurities
Affirm feelings and choices of child
Exploit natural sexual curiosities of child
Ease inhibitions by gradually introducing sex into conversations or exposing them to pornography
Flatter and compliment the child excessively, sends gifts, and invests time, money, and energy to groom child
Develop an online relationship that is romantic, controlling, and upon which the child becomes dependent
Drive a wedge between the child and his or her parents and friends
Make promises of an exciting, stress-free life, tailored to the youth’s desire
Make threats, and often will use child pornography featuring their victims to blackmail them into silence
Online Predators
The online predator: Blends into society Is typically clean cut and outwardly law abiding Is usually white, middle-aged or younger, and male Uses position in society to throw off suspicion Can rise to be a pillar of society while actively pursuing children Often engages in activities involving children Appears trusting to both parents and child

18. Warning Signs
Your child may be in contact with an online predator if he or she:
Becomes secretive about online activities
Becomes obsessive about being online
Gets angry when he or she can’t get online
Receives phone calls from people you do not know or makes calls to numbers that you do not recognize
Receives gifts, mail, or packages from someone you do not know
Withdraws from family and friends
Changes screens or turns off computer when an adult enters a room
Begins downloading pornography online

19. Online Predator Stats
Approximately 95 percent of all Americans between 12 and 17 years old are online and three in four teens access the internet on cell phones, tablets, and other mobile devices (as of 2012)
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)
About 30% of the victims of Internet sexual exploitation are boys.
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.
75% of children are willing to share personal information online about themselves and their family in exchange for goods and services.
33% of teens are Facebook friends with other people they have not met in person.

20. Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Electronic technology includes devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites. Examples of cyberbullying include mean text messages or s, rumors sent by or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles. It turns out there are several different ways parents can report cyberbullying. The first step they should take is to keep a record of evidence to include, dates, times, and descriptions of when cyberbullying has occurred. They could also save and print screenshots of s and text messages to report to web and cell phone service providers.

21. What can you do if cyberbullying is occurring?
Parents could also report cyberbullying to social media sites so they can take action against users that are violating the sites terms of service, according to stopbullying.gov.
Parents should report cyberbullying to law enforcement officials when it involves threats of violence, recordings of a victim in a private area, or sexually explicit messages, the government recommends.
Cyberbullying has evolved over the past few years due to technological advances, but parents can stay aware of these new cyberbullying methods and help to prevent it from happening to their children.

22. Sexting
Studies have shown that at least a quarter to a third of teenagers and young adults have sent explicit photos of themselves and more than half have sent suggestive or explicit text messages to another individual. If an adult sends or receives sexually explicit images to or from a minor that adult has clearly broken the law and will be charged with a felony sex crime. The tricky cases that are frequently giving law enforcement officials headaches these days occur when one minor is caught creating, distributing, or possessing a sexually explicit image of another minor. The problem is that because Tennessee has no criminal statute on point, that minor could be charged under the state’s child pornography statutes. Many people would be stunned to learn that if the minor is convicted of such a felony they will generally be required to register as a sex offender. Under Tennessee law it is a felony to knowingly posses any material of a minor engaged in a sexual act. Minors found to be sexting could face separate felony convictions for possession, distribution and creation of such images. These crimes come with up to 30 years behind bars for creating pornographic images, 15 years for distributing them and 12 years in jail for possessing child porn. Finally, sex crime convictions come with fines of up to $25,000 per offense and require that the person register as a sex offender, an especially terrible punishment that will follow you for life.

23. Guidelines for Safety
Learn everything you can about the Internet. Being familiar with the Internet will not only help you understand the risks, but it will also help you talk to your kids.
Set standards for what your kids can and cannot do online. It's important to make rules for your kids so they know what's expected of them. Don't wait until something bad happens to start creating guidelines.
Teach your kids to keep personal information private. It's usually a bad idea to post personal information online such as phone numbers, addresses, and credit cards. If criminals gain access to this information, they can use it to harm you or your family.
Teach your kids to use social networking sites safely. Sites like Facebook allow kids—and adults—to share photos and videos of themselves, as well as have conversations with friends and strangers. If your kids share something with friends, it's still possible for it to get into the wrong hands. Generally, they should only post something online if they're comfortable with everyone in the world seeing it.
Encourage your kids to come to you if they encounter a problem. If your child gets into trouble online, you'll want him or her to come to you instead of hiding it. Keep in mind that your kids could accidentally encounter a bad site, even if they're doing everything right.
Talk to your kids about Internet use. Talk to your kids regularly about how they use the Internet. If they're in the habit of talking to you about the Internet, they'll be more willing to come to you if there's a problem.

24. Minimize Risks at Home
Keep the computer in the living room or in another common area. By putting the computer in a common area of the house, you can reduce the chance that they'll talk to strangers or visit inappropriate websites. For teens, you may choose to give them more freedom about where they use the computer (especially if they have their own computers).
Install antivirus software. Viruses and other malware are a risk for any computer (although Macs are slightly safer). To protect your computer, you can install antivirus software such as BitDefender, Norton, or Kaspersky.
Use a kid-friendly search engine. Regular search engines may return results with inappropriate content you don't want your kids to see. However, there are some search engines that are designed to only return kid-friendly results (although there is still the possibility of inappropriate results getting through). Examples include KidsClick!, KidTopia, and KidRex.org.
Use parental controls. Windows and Mac OS X allow you to add parental controls to user accounts. These include time limits, website restrictions, and controlling which applications can be opened. You can also buy parental control software like Net Nanny, which has versions for Windows and Mac.

25. Parental Control Apps
Kids Place is a comprehensive parental control app. Some of its handy attributes include a customized home screen showcasing approved apps only, the ability to prevent your child from downloading or buying new apps as well as a time feature to specify a schedule for using the smartphone. On top of that, it’s also capable of blocking incoming calls and disabling all wireless signals. When you install and use the app for the first time, you have to first set a PIN for security purposes.
KuuKla Parental Control App helps you tailor your Android device into one which is suitable for your child. It gives you the opportunity to select the applications that you want to appear for use on the home screen while disabling access to all other applications. It also allows you to define a schedule for using apps and the Internet on the smartphone. Once you’ve download the app and registered your address, a PIN code will be sent to the address provided which can only be used by you to control the device.
Abeona app actually comes with a complementary app called Device Monitor. Abeona – Parental Control allows parents to monitor the mobile apps usage of their child, view call logs and check whether the device of child is online or offline among other things. The Device Monitor app must be installed on the child’s device in order for the parent to receive reports of device usage and location. The app is great for use on multiple devices, for instance if you need to get reports from multiple Android smartphones or tablets, all at once.
SecureTeen Parental Control can filter out most if not all adult content. SecureTeen allows you to monitor your children’s online activities, applications they download and their location. If you don’t like an app that’s installed on your child’s phone then SecureTeen allows you to shut it down, even if it’s still installed. SecureTeen can be managed remotely online by logging into the website.
Screen Time is a helpful app which lets you manage how much ‘screen time’ your kids get. The key features of Screen Time includes blocking different apps according to the time. For example, you can block only games at bed time but still allow readings apps then choose to block all apps when it’s time for lights out. Screen Time also allows you to set a daily time limit on the apps you want to restrict access to.
Kids Zone is another handy parental control app. The chore mode gives you the capability to set a time limit that determines when your child can use the smartphone. Other notable features include relocking the device after rebooting, blocking phone calls as well as text messages and Internet access, blocking apps installation and in-app purchasing, and various other features.
The Parental Control Board app helps monitor, manage and track a child’s activities on a mobile phone. It can monitor a list of all installed apps on the phone and you can even restrict some of them such as YouTube or Google Play, if you need to. Get the precise location of your child at any time and control and see all call logs and SMS that goes through their phone. One of the useful things that this app has is the ability for parents to setup black lists and white lists of phone numbers for incoming/outgoing calls and messages.
This Norton Family Parental Control app allows you to see which websites are visited by your child. You can also restrict access to pornographic and inappropriate websites and can setup alerts that notify you whenever your child attempts to do something that he/she shouldn’t. If you don’t mind spending a bit of money, you can get the premium version which lets you view logs of text messages, monitor the apps downloaded by your child and even block some of those apps amongst various other features.

26. Helpful Websites TN map of Registered Sex Offenders
Information on Bullying (including Cyberbullying)
Talking to Your Kids about Sexting
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27. Q&A Does your school wi-fi block out things like Facebook?
Yes. There are a number of websites that Rutherford County Schools have deemed forbidden depending on the nature of the website.
How can we see if they have a ghost app?
You can go to the phone’s app store. Once there you should find a section that lists all apps that are and have been on the phone. For Droid, it is Google Play and for Apple, it is the App Store.
Do you recommend any parental control apps over others?
There are many control apps out there. The ones we listed in the powerpoint are free; however, there are ones that you can pay for as well that tend to allow you to do more. It depends on what level of blocking and/or monitoring that you want to do.