Internet Safety Online Resources for Kids
Use of the Internet opens up a new, mostly unrestricted world to kids. Without using intervention or teaching the child to protect himself online, he could be easily exposed to a multitude of dangers beyond unwanted pornographic images, and could even be risking his life. Online safety organizations strongly discourage allowing the child to surf the Internet without adult supervision, even if there is safety software installed on the computer.
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Cyberbullying
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Cyberbullying is the use of online identities to harass, threaten, humiliate or embarrass another individual. Using the anonymity the Internet provides, the bully can send emails, chat messages and text messages, or post harmful information about her victim. The Internet can also be used to send anonymous text messages to the victim's phone. A bully can sometimes use photos posted on the victim's social networking sites against the victim. Photos can be edited and the head placed on a different body in order to create new photos the child never posed for. The photos are then posted online to embarrass the victim.
Predators
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Predators use Internet chat rooms and social networking sites to groom children of all ages. During grooming, they make the child comfortable and eliminate the feeling that the predator is a stranger to the child. The predator tries to get close to the child to set up a future meeting, or to learn things from the child so they can orchestrate kidnapping the child. Predators can use small pieces of information provided by the child over several chat sessions to learn the child's schedule, the places the child frequents, when the parents are not home and more.
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Chat Rooms
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Chat rooms are social networking outlets that allow users to type to each other in real time. Users in the chat room use nicknames, sometimes known as handles, rather than real names. Chat rooms are open to users of all ages, and the only information required is a basic online profile on the chat site. The information provided in the profile does not need to be accurate, and in most cases is not verified before the user has full access to chat features. As such, a 45-year-old man could easily masquerade as a 14-year-old girl and lure unsuspecting children into talking to them as a friend rather than a stranger. Once the unsuspecting child is comfortable with the "girl" he just met, he is likely to pass along seemingly harmless information such as what sports he plays, what school he attends or his upcoming plans and places he likely will go to.
Email
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Email seems like a private means of communication. However, it can easily be used by stalkers, bullies or even the child's friends as a means of endangering the child. Emails can be sent anonymously, email accounts hacked and new email accounts created to mask identities. Children post their email addresses on social networking sites, pass them along to friends or use them to sign up for services online they are interested in. If no steps are taken to hide the email from public view -- which most children don't know they can do -- then the email address can be obtained by predators and bullies and misused. The child could be signed up for spam emails, pornographic websites and mailing lists, or sent grotesque images. Viruses are also sent to the child via email. When the child opens the email unknowingly, the computer becomes a tool for the criminal to use to spy on the child, gain access to other accounts or pretend to be the child for the purpose of luring in other children.
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