Ensuring Safe Travel Along The Information Superhighway

The Internet is a wonderful research tool and our reliance on it has grown rapidly. In addition to having access to encyclopedias and experts in almost any field at their fingertips, our students can do research, play, and socialize with their friends.

There is however, a downside to the Internet. Dangers on the Internet have been heavily reported and it has become increasingly necessary to raise awareness through information campaigns to parents and students. We all need to talk more with our children about their online experiences. According to www.cyberangels.org, “Dropping our children off online is as unwise as dropping them off at the mall unsupervised.”

This same message was reiterated when FBI Supervisory Special Agent Timothy Nestor presented a program on Internet Safety at a Student Assistance Workshop for parents on February 8. Mr. Nestor cautioned parents that there are as many as 10,000 registered pedophiles in New Jersey alone. He strongly suggested that, “A home computer should be placed in a common area, where it can be easily supervised.” By doing so parents can protect their children from online pedophiles and other perils that are associated with exploring the worldwide web. Agent Nestor had some other important tips to help us ensure the safety of our children as they surf the net. Among them are:

• Discuss with your children how they use the Internet. Ask them about their interests, the kinds of sites they visit, etc.

• Monitor the time of day and the amount of time your child is spending on the Internet. Know how much time is spent working on academics and how much of it is purely social.

• Children need to be taught to be on guard. Remind them that what they read online may not be true and that people sometimes pose as someone they are not.

• They should not give any identifiable information–not their full names, addresses, schools or phone numbers. They should never upload pictures of themselves to send to someone that they do not know.

• Children should not respond to any postings that are obscene, suggestive, belligerent or harassing. They should never arrange a face-to-face meeting with a person they meet online.

"That one in every five children comes in contact with an adult pedophile while online,” as was reported on ABC’s Good Morning America, is cause for all of us to take notice.

There are more and more incidents of harassment, humiliation, intimidation and/or the threatening of others taking place by cyberbullies. Slightly different than old fashioned bullying, cyberbullying can include cruel jokes, malicious gossip, embarrassing information or photographs and/or websites designed to target a specific person. This is also unlike face-to-face bullying because the bully is removed from the immediate and tangible feedback of the victim. E-bullies do not see the harm they have caused or the consequences of their actions. This minimizes any feelings of remorse or empathy, creating a situation where kids do and say things on the Internet that they would be much less likely to do in person. Through our strong and consistent character education program we try to address this issue, but parents can help by monitoring Internet usage and having open communication with their children.

Social networking services such as www.xanga.com, www.myspace.com, and www.facebook.com are blog hosting services. Blogs, more formally known as personal web logs have become hugely popular. These online diaries or journals can present a host of problems for children of all ages if they don’t think responsibly before they post. Posting personal information and or photos makes it very easy for online predators to locate the author of a blog. An employer or a college can hold anything that someone might post in a blog against him or her. What seems very cool right now may not seem cool when a year or two from now students are sending out applications for college or employment.

Much of cyberspace is still unknown territory. We need to instruct children as to both the benefits and dangers on the Internet. We must teach them to travel and explore cautiously, to take responsibility for themselves and their actions, and to be circumspect of whom they meet while online. Working together we can better safeguard our children.

Other helpful links: www.fbi.gov/fbikids.htm, www.kids.getnetwise.org, www.kidshealth.org, www.safekids.com

Yours truly,

Jo Ann Magistro, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools