Internet Safety Presentation

1. Internet Safety Presentation Developed by the WCPS Internet Safety Committee and the Washington County Sheriff’s Department

2. Internet Safety: A Cautionary Tale http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWq7SXaXj8g

3. Internet Safety Statistics According to the latest online victimization research…• Approximately one in seven youth online (10 to 17-years-old) received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet. • Four percent (4%) received an aggressive sexual solicitation - a solicitor who asked to meet them somewhere; called them on the telephone; or sent them offline mail, money, or gifts.• Twenty-seven percent (27%) of the youth who encountered unwanted sexual material told a parent or guardian. If the encounter was defined as distressing - episodes that made them feel very or extremely upset or afraid - forty-two percent (42%) told a parent or guardian.[David Finkelhor, Kimberly J. Mitchell, and Janis Wolak. Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later. Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2006, pages 7-8, 33.]

4. Internet Safety Statistics (cont.) • 9 out of 10 children aged between 8 and 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet. In most cases, the sites were accessed unintentionally when the child, in the process of doing homework, used a seemingly innocent sounding word to search for information or pictures. (London School of Economics, 2002) • The adult internet industry estimates that traffic on their sites is 20-30% children. (NRC Report 2002) • Law enforcement officials estimate that as many as 50,000 sexual predators are online at any given moment. (Dateline, 2006) • Nearly 3 out of 10 (28%) parents don’t know or are not sure if their teens talk to strangers online. (NCMEC May 2005) • One third of youth ages 8-18 have talked about meeting someone they have only met through the Internet (Polly Klaas Foundation, December 2005)

5. Sexting • What is it? Act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos electronically, primarily between cell phones. Can be done through IM, text messages, email, MySpace accounts, etc. www.adcouncil.org/page_column.aspx?id=56#

6. Tips to Prevent Sexting • Think about the consequences. You could get kicked off a team, face humiliation, lose educational opportunities, and even get in trouble with the law. • Never take images of yourself that you wouldn’t want everyone to see. • Before hitting send, remember that you can’t control where this image may travel and you can never get it back.

7. Cyberbullying • Bullying – intentionally hurting, humiliating or threatening another person. • It doesn’t matter where it takes place. Some people use the Internet, cell phones or other technology. • This causes fear and tension among students and gets in the way of learning.

8. Tips to prevent Cyberbullying • Think before you type – messages can be copied or forwarded easily. • Don’t give out personal information including your name, phone number, address, name of your school, school team, your password or other information. • Don’t write something that you would not share with someone face to face.

9. If you are Cyberbullied… • Don’t reply to a harassing message. • Don’t open any messages from someone who is bullying you. • Print off the messages, if possible. • Tell a parent or another trusted adult about what’s happening. • If you witness “live” bullying, ask the bully to stop and follow the above steps.

10. Credits Produced in collaboration by: • Washington County Public Schools • Washington County Sheriff’s Department