"You need to get on the web. Don't be afraid to get on it and learn about it. The more knowledge you have about it, the better off you are...use the web the way your kids are using it - don't be afraid of it. It's easy to learn the basic stuff. Whatever your kids have access to, you have access to." said Yung, who is also the director of Information and Technology in the D.A.'s office. They stressed that technology is a good thing - vital to education - and definitely here to stay.
Daniels said, "One hundred and eighty days of the year the kids are in school. So addressing this issue will require a partnership with families and the community. We can't do it alone." A typical case of "sexting" involves, for example, a fifteen year old girl texting a nude photo of herself to, for example, her seventeen year old boyfriend. The boy then sends this to 50 of his friends not thinking of the consequences. This is "dissemination of pornography" and there can be serious legal issues involved in this situation. Another serious issue is the humiliation the young girl experiences. Yung encouraged parents to call their local police if they had any questions regarding the law surrounding this issue in their city, especially involving child porn.
"Cyberbullying" is the sending of mean or threatening messages sent to others. "We have a lot of incidences of nastiness that happen out of school, but these situations spill over into school because kids come to school with their feelings hurt. We have lots of cases of this now," said Daniels. A short film was shown displaying a useful message on cyber-bullying "If you wouldn't say it in person, don't say it online."
Internet use is hugely popular now. 94 percent of teenagers use the internet, 89 percent use it at least once a week and 61 per cent use it daily. 58 percent of teenagers use a social networking site with a personal profile (like Facebook or MySpace), 70 percent of girls between 15-17 had profiles and 34 percent of those with profiles did not use their "privacy option," which restricts who can view the information, according to statistics presented.
Yung said it's hugely important for all web users to know that once information is sent over the web, very little of it is completely confidential. This can create major problems as well, personal humiliations and dangers of children's exposure to sexual predators. "The more information you put out there, the more risks you are taking," he said. But there are a lot of basic skills adults can use to help keep their children safe.
Daniels advised parents to ask to see a child's "buddy list" and try to determine if the child is speaking to someone they don't know. She insisted that parents must know who their children are communicating with. She also advised to turn on the "logging" tool on all instant messengers (IM's or texters) so user's identifying info is recorded.
"I don't advocate 'blocking' necessarily. It's kind of like if you forbid it outright, they'll try to get around it, one way or another," Daniels said. She advised using blocking only as a last resort if other precautions aren't working. Daniels and Yong said the parent's job is to communicate with the child, lead by example, have high expectations for appropriate computer use, ask to see their buddy list and limit use to reasonable amounts. Also ask for all their basic network information. "A child could show a parent one Facebook account, but have a second account they're hiding," she said.
Facebook/MySpace profile accounts have additional risks for users. Yong said employers and colleges regularly check these accounts. "Once you post something, you don't really know where it goes, even if you delete it, it can still be viewed by others. That's why security on all accounts is so important."
The most serious danger is sexual predators. Daniels and Yung said predators use Facebook sites, chat rooms and email accounts regularly. A local politician who was tried for crimes against children was shown at his trial in the powerpoint presentation. "The typical predator doesn't talk about sex for a long time, they may spend six months building a friendship. They'll be very friendly for a long time before they initiate any contact. The kids think they're making friends. The predators look for certain interests, for example the kid might say he likes basketball. The predator says, 'You like basketball? I love basketball too' or 'You're have problems with your Dad? I understand, I had a lot of problems with my Dad too,' etc. Then after six months they ask the child if they'd like to meet," she said.
Yung suggested to never post anything sexually provocative. He showed a short film about a humiliating experience of a young girl, an experience that happens commonly all over the country. The girl puts up a photo of herself on the school activities board, for whatever reason. Later a boy takes it down, photos it and posts it on the web where anyone can see it. She is initially very flattered when an older boy says hi and knows her name. She doesn't know yet why he really knows her name. But a trip to the movies becomes a humiliating experience as a ticket taker and a janitor also know her name and say perverse things to her. She returns to the bulletin board crying, rips down the photo. She looks up and the embarrassing image is still there. As Yung said, once something's posted on the web, it can't really be controlled." The film ends with the slogan "Think Before You Post."
"Googling"one's own name and one's kid's name is a good tool to use to see what is being recorded out there, Yung said. Someone who lives in Somerville with a common name should Google, for example, "John Smith Somerville." An adult asked how they could understand texting or how to do a certain computer task, Yung said, just "Google" your question word for word, and something will pop up that will be helpful.
Daniels praised Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, "Gerry has such a good reputation for prosecuting. But people don't realize what a big heart he has for prevention and intervention. He's all about health and safety for our youth." Her email address is [email protected] and her phone is 781-897-6808.
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