Your Internet Safety Kit

MySpace . . . Facebook . . . Bebo . . . Eons . . . Gather. Do these names sound familiar to you? Well, these are social networking websites . . . currently, the hottest spots for meeting new friends and making cyber-connections.

One glance at Wikipedia’s growing List of Social Networking Websites tells us these social networks are moving more and more towards greater specialization.

You’ll find networking sites for lovers of books, music fans, car junkies, teens, photo sharing aficionados, flirting/dating, movie enthusiasts, people over fifty and religious devotees.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a new online social networking site for millionaires-aSmallWorld.net.

However, there’s more here than just a fun place to meet people. The world of community websites can also be a dangerous world.

While most adults can handle open networking opportunities for romance and finding new friends, children and teens are becoming lost in this environment.

From research conducted by Cox Communications in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC), we learn teens have established a significant presence on social networking web sites:

•61% of 13- to 17-year-olds have a personal profile on sites such as MySpace, Friendster or Xanga. Half have posted pictures of themselves online.

• 14% have met face-to-face with a person they had known only through the Internet (9% of 13- to 15-year-olds and 22% of 16- to 17-year-olds).

• 71% reported receiving messages online from someone they don’t know.

• 45% have been asked for personal information by a stranger.

• When teens receive messages online from someone they don’t know, 40% usually reply

MySpace recognizes the problem with having children use their networking tools. So they prohibit anyone under the age of 14 from using their website. Guess what? Children lie . . . and so do adults.

The cute 14-year-old boy your daughter meets online, may not be 14 and may not be a boy but a 40-year-old man.

Since children present the greatest danger on these social networking sites, we must ask what parents can do to protect their kids.

•Find out if your child has a page on one of these sites. How? Ask them outright. You could also do a search using your child’s email address or the name of their school.

•If you find your child has a profile on a website, review their information. See if they’ve posted their name, address, cell and phone numbers or the school they attend. Are there photos posted on the site? Are they writing provocative comments about themselves, true or not?

•Find out who your child has been communicating with. Has he or she been speaking with strangers or only their friends?

•If you want your child’s profile removed, ask them to remove it themselves. If that doesn’t work, most social networking sites like MySpace contains a help section telling its subscribers how to remove a page.

•Familiarize yourself with the resources to help parents monitor their kid’s Internet safety. You’ll find a goldmine of information on Focus on the Family’s child protection page.

•If you agree to allow your child to remain on MySpace or another social networking site, have them set their profile to “private” to prevent outside people from viewing their profile.

Parents, you are in charge. If they don’t listen or follow your rules, here’s simple advice: Practice tough love by unplugging the computer. For their safety, you’ll be glad you did.

JOHN TESH
Email: johnsblog@teshmedia.com