Front page of this section
Protecting
children
Own
worst enemy
What
should children learn?
What
should schools do?
Engaging
the children
Go to Part
1:
The Risks |
What should children learn?
So
what should we teach our children to help them know how to keep
themselves safe when using mobile phones, chatrooms and social
networking sites such as Bebo, MySpace and Facebook?
It’s
difficult to create a definitive list of advice but the
overarching advice includes:
- Don’t post personal
information
- Keep your password safe
- Don’t post
photographs, especially ones you wouldn’t want your
parents to see
- Remember that once you
post it you lose it
Bear
in mind that people may not be who they say they are. It might
be 13 year old Danny but it might be a 40-year old man.
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A
list of websites designed for children can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/qcm5mh.
Sites include:
ChildNet, Kidscape, Chatdanger, Bullying Online, Childline,
The
European Internet Safety Portal at http://keepcontrol.eu/
has the following advice to help children deal with Cyberbullying.
-
Keep
the message: you don't have to read it, but keep it as proof of
harassment. It is vital to have a record of the incident when you
look for help or want to report it.
-
Report
problems to people who can do something about it. You can take
control by not putting up with offensive content or by reporting it
to the website owners when you come across it. Incidents that could
be illegal should be reported to the authorities.
-
Block
the sender. You don’t have to put up with someone harassing you -
block unwanted senders!
-
Tell
someone you trust. Talking to your parents, friends, a teacher,
youth leader is usually the first step in dealing with any issue.
-
Respect
yourself and respect others - being online is very public and very
real, although it doesn’t always feel that way. Know your rights www.thinkuknow.co.uk!
-
Be
creative! Be yourself! Be in control!
There
is also an extensive page of advice entitled “Europe Safety Tips”
at: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/sip/safety_tips/index_en.htm
This
is designed for adults and it gives extensive information under the
following headings:
-
Social
networking, chat and risks with online communication
-
Blogs
-
Bullying
and Cyber bullying
-
Illegal
content - Child sexual abuse material (child pornography)
-
E-commerce
/ Phishing / Identity theft
-
File
sharing
-
Parental
control: Filtering, Labels
-
Mobile
phones
-
Online
gaming and gambling
-
Privacy
-
Racism
on the Internet
-
Spam
-
Virus,
spyware, etc.
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