INTERNET SAFETY LESSON by Deborah Icard, Cloverleaf Technology Facililtator, Statesville, NC
Website with excellent safety resources:
“Notes” from around the web:
Post with respect: photos are a great way to share wonderful experiences. If you’re posting a photo of you and your friends, put yourself in your friends’ shoes and ask would your friends want that photo to be public to everyone. If yes, then you’re uploading photos with respect.
Comment with kindness: compliments are like smiles, they’re contagious. When you comment on a profile, share a kind word, others will too.
Update with empathy: sharing updates lets us tell people what we think. When you give an opinion on your status updates, show empathy towards your friends and help them see the world with understanding eyes.
Today’s media environment provides an opportunity – and responsibility – for parents and schools to teach critical thinking. Not only must young people learn to “consider the source” of what they take in but also think critically about what they post in a world where just about every young person is now potentially an author, photographer and videographer. Kids – who may never even know who Walter Cronkite was – need to have a miniature version of him inside their head by asking questions such as “Is this true?” and “How do I know it’s true?.” And when they’re about to post they need to think carefully before they broadcast their own versions of “the way it is.”
Manifestations of cyberbullying include name calling, sending embarrassing pictures, sharing personal information or secrets without permission, and spreading rumors. It can also include trickery, exclusion, and impersonation.
As Dr. Agaston pointed out, kids who take risks online typically also take risks in their offline lives. As with less severe categories of online risk taking, the problem is less about technology and more about youth behavior.
Another speaker, Alan Simpson of Common Sense Media, told the group that digital citizenship and media literacy are essential components to online safety. How kids treat themselves and others as well as their ability to critically evaluate what they see and do on and offline, can have an enormous impact on their personal safety and the safety of those with whom they interact.