HELPING CHILDREN USE
THE INTERNET
POSITIVELY & SAFELY
<INSERT
SCHOOL/ORGANISATION & Date >
THIS PRESENTATION
TAKING A BALANCED APPROACH !
Why is this issue important?
What is so positive for Children?
What are the dangers for Children?
What can you do now?
Practical resources + Questions
WHAT IS CHILDNET?
A charity working to
help make the internet
a great and safe place
for all children.
WHAT IS THE INTERNET LIKE FOR CHILDREN?
Connects you
to the world
Like bringing a
city into the
home or
classroom
The good
&
The bad
Let’s make sure the good outweighs the bad!
A bit about you….
How many of you have internet access at
home ?
What sort of things do your children like
doing on the internet ?
What sort of concerns do you have about
your children’s use of the internet ?
PART I
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT
PART I
1) WHAT ARE THE DANGERS ?
Whilst there are enormous benefits for children using the internet at
home and at school there are potential dangers for children using the
net unsupervised. These can broadly be grouped into 3 C s:
Content
• Pornography
• Racist content
• Inaccurate
information
Contact
Commerce
• Threatening
e-mails
• Blur between
advertising & content
• Strangers in
Chat rooms
• Invasions of privacy
& SPAM
PART I
2) ADULTS + CHILDREN USE THE NET IN DIFFERENT WAYS
PARENTS
YOUNG PEOPLE
Mostly e-mail and
web for research
Interactive chat,
IM, Music, Games,
DO YOU KNOW
HOW YOUR CHILD
USES THE NET?
WE NEED TO BE INVOLVED IN OUR CHILDREN’S ONLINE
ACTIVITY, VALIDATE THEIR SKILLS & LEARN FROM THEM
PART I
3) THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE + WISDOM
KNOWLEDGE
Many children pick
up technology
quicker !
WISDOM
HELP YOUR
CHILDREN TO
UNDERSTAND
THE CONTEXT
Understanding
how to behave in
a virtual world
TECHNOLOGY IS THROWING UP NEW IMPORTANT
SAFETY ISSUES WHICH CHILDREN MAY NOT SEE
PART I
4) SUPERVISED/UNSUPERVISED ACCESS POINTS
IN SCHOOL
OUT OF SCHOOL
Generally supervised,
protected and
monitored
Often no filtering,
supervision or
monitoring
WE NEED TO DO
MORE THAN
SUPERVISEWE NEED TO
HELP EDUCATE
CHALLENGE = to ensure that children are safe
wherever they use the internet
PART II
WHAT’S SO POSITIVE
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH THE NET?
Discover
• Search
• Homework
• Projects
The biggest library
in the world
Connect
• E-mail
• Newsgroups
communities and clubs
• Chat
Brings kids together
at local call rates
Create
• Web sites
• Text, art,
music,
photos,
video...
Anyone can
become a publisher
WHAT WE DID WITH THE PUPILS THIS AFTERNOON
Three examples which
shows the power of the
Net for children to…
Discover
Connect
Create
PART III
WHAT ARE THE DANGERS
THE DANGERS TO CHILDREN
Content
• Pornography
• Racism
• Inaccurate
information
Contact
Commerce
• Threatening
e-mail
• Invasion of
privacy
• Paedophiles
in chat
rooms
• Blur between
advertising &
content
PORNOGRAPHY
• Promotes a demeaning
view of women (& men)
• Encourages false
fantasies
• Can be used to sexualise
young children
• Addictive
• Easily available on the Net
SMART TIP
Consider using filtering
Be careful to type in the correct web site address!
RACIST & HATE SITES
• Web an ideal medium
for small extreme
groups
• Some pose as
churches, or other
“acceptable” groups
• Some target children
SMART TIP
See www.adl.org for details of sites to avoid
INACCURATE CONTENT
• Spoof sites
• URL mimickers eg
www.microdoft.com
• Historical revisionist
material
• Inaccurate health
information
SMART TIP
Look for source, date, links & references
See www.quick.org.uk for helpful checklist
Contact
Interactive services online
• Chat –web based
• Instant Messaging
• Games – MOO,
MUD, MUSH etc.
• Cyber sex
SMART TIP
Get your kids to explain how chat and IM work!
What is Instant Messaging?
Instant Messaging (sometimes called “IM,”
“IMing,” or “Messaging” ) is the ability to:
easily see whether a chosen friend or co-worker is
connected to the internet and, if they are,
exchange text messages with them.
Instant Messaging differs from ordinary email in
that the messages are delivered immediately,
making dialog much easier than with email.
Definition courtesy whatis.com
Other Common IM Features
• Chat
Join a number of your contacts
to exchange messages in a
private chat room.
• File transfer
Send and receive computer
files.
• News headlines or alerts
Instant notification of breaking
news.
Source: Technology & Learning, 11/02, p.48
Other Common IM Features
• Talk
Speak directly to your contacts
– You need a sound card
(standard on all computers
these days) and a
microphone.
• E-mail notification
The IM system flags new
e-mail
Source: Technology & Learning, 11/02, p.48
Why is IM Important to Parents?
• 74% of online teens use instant messaging. In
comparison, 44% of online adults have used IM.
• 45% of online teens use Instant Messaging each
time they are online.
• 69% of online teens use IM at least a few times
each week.
Data courtesy www.pewinternet.org
Why is IM REALLY Important
to Parents?
• 37% of online teens have used IM to write
something that they would not have said in
person.
• 41% of online teens say they use email and
instant messaging to contact teachers or
classmates about schoolwork.
Data courtesy www.pewinternet.org
Safety Concerns
• IM is used in the grooming process because its
more private than public chat rooms
• IM and Chat are closely linked products and
moving from one to another can take just one
click
• The alert function means that people know
when you online.
Here are a few tips to avoid
potential pitfalls:
• Choose products with parental controls
• Each IM product asks you to fill out a profile of
yourself. Be sure not to include private
information such as phone number and address
or school name.
• Never click on unknown or suspicious hyperlinks.
• Never accept files, or send them to people that
you don’t know.
• Keep IM address secret in Chatrooms
THE DANGERS IN CHAT
• You don’t know who people are
• People lie about their age and other
interests
• Flattery can make kids feel important
• Determined adults can seek abusive
relationships
• Contacts shift quickly to messaging, e mail
and mobile phones
• Chat is just a click away! E.g.
ONE FAMILY’S STORY..
My daughter was contacted starting in February this year by a
pedophile whilst using a chat room. He quickly moved to e-mail
and shortly afterwards sent her pornography, purporting to be
pictures of himself. My daughter was just 12 at this time.
After grooming her for some weeks, he made telephone contact
and eventually persuaded her to miss school and meet him.
In total, he met her five times and took her back to his flat where
she was sexually abused…
… I have worked in the computer industry for 18 years, latterly
with the Internet, and had no idea what went on in these chat
rooms. Surely there is some regulatory body that can make the
ISPs monitor at least the teenage chat rooms to make sure kids
aren’t in danger…. Perhaps you can offer some guidance?”
The response to this case
www.chatdanger.com
• Aimed at chat users and
parents
• Celebrity introduction
• Cartoons and a chat
safety banner in open
source html
• Simple non-technical
language for parents
Links with handphones & text
messaging
• Mobile phones are personal &
private
• Kids love text messaging
• You can send text from many
web sites anonymously
• You can have text chat
• What next ?…….
SMART TIP
Encourage your kids not to give out their
mobile no.
Commercialism
on thePressure
net
Subtle
 Blur between much content
& advertising
 Subtle request for
information (games, auctions
competitions
 Collection of information
makes net marketers dream
 Many parents unaware of
dangers
Eat kelloggs cereal
Find codes in box
Punch them in to get points
SMART TIP
Use points to get cool stuff.
Be careful about filling in online forms!
INTERNET ADDICTION
 Using the internet can be addictive
 Signs are –
 compulsive use –
no interruptions
 long hours
 secretive use
 If combined with high risk
activities can be dangerous
SMART TIP
Link internet use to offline interests eg sport
PART IV
SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO
NOW
SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO NOW
?
1) Get involved in your children’s online activity at home. Check
you know what applications they are using, especially chat rooms and
games played with others online. Ask who their “e-pals” are. Get them
to teach you about how things work.
2) Support the school – Sign the Acceptable Use Policy and take an
active interest in what your children are doing in ICT at school.
3) Encourage internet use that builds on offline activities. It
helps to keep the computer in a family room not tucked away in a
child’s bedroom. Help your children to use the Internet for home work
and leisure interests.
4) Use some of the tools on the computer to help you.
4) TOOLS TO HELP
 Website addresses +
favorites folders
 Browsers (history)
 Search engines
 E-mail accounts –
reputable and
supervised (hotmail)
 Filtering tools
 Mobile phones.
5) Filtering and Blocking
• Different types
– Access to sites
– Time limiting
– Outgoing content
– Monitoring
– Kids search engines
• Recognise the limitations
• Never 100% effective
SMART TIP
See www.getnetwise.org lists over 140 tools
6 ) REINFORCE THE “SMART” RULES
WITH YOUR CHILDREN
SAFE – Staying safe online
involves being careful and
thinking about whether it is
safe to give out personal
information
SAFE –
Staying safe online involves being careful and thinking about
whether it is safe to give out personal information
MEETING – Meeting up with
someone you have
contacted in cyberspace can
be dangerous. Only do so
with your parent’s/ carer’s
permission and then when
they can be present.
SAFE
– Staying safe online involves being careful and thinking about
whether it is safe to give out personal information
MEETING
– Meeting up with someone you have contacted in cyberspace
can be dangerous. Only do so with your parent’s/carer’s permission and then
when they can be present.
ACCEPT
– Accepting e-mails
or opening files from people
you don’t know can be
dangerous. – they may contain
viruses or nasty messages.
SAFE – Staying safe online involves being careful and thinking about
whether it is safe to give out personal information
MEETING –
Meeting up with someone you have contacted in cyberspace
can be dangerous. Only do so with your parent’s/carer’s permission and then
when they can be present.
ACCEPT – Accepting e-mails or opening files from people you don’t know
can be dangerous. – they may contain viruses or nasty messages.
RELIABLE – Anyone can put
anything on the net and
remember people can lie and
not be who they say they are
in chat rooms.
SAFE –
Staying safe online involves being careful and thinking about whether it is safe
to give out personal information
MEETING –
Meeting up with someone you have contacted in cyberspace can be
dangerous. Only do so with your parent’s/carer’s permission and then when they can be
present.
ACCEPT –
Accepting e-mails or opening files from people you don’t know can be
dangerous. – they may contain viruses or nasty messages.
RELIABLE –
Anyone can put anything on the net and remember people can lie and
not be who they say they are in chat rooms.
TELL – Tell your parent/carer
or teacher if someone or
something makes you feel
uncomfortable or worried.
See www.kidsmart.org.uk/smart for more info.
KIDSMART LEAFLETS FOR YOUR SCHOOL AND PARENTS !
"The internet is great fun and a
brilliant way to keep in contact
with friends. However, it is
really important that we all use
the Net safely and always
remember these SMART rules to
stay safe online."
Ant and Dec
By learning together, taking
care and supporting our
children we can help our
children get the benefit,
avoid danger and use the
internet to fully
Discover
Connect
Create
QUESTIONS?
www.kidsmart.org.uk
www.chatdanger.com
www.childnet-int.org
Produced by Childnet International. Copyright 2003