What is it? How prevalent is it and how risky is it? Read on for some basic definitions, information about social networking sites, the risks involved and tips for safer use and what to do about problems. You first need to understand the lingo when you start researching what's right and what's not in the social networking scene.
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| http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-stats-facts-2011/ |
Social Networking - Dictionary.com defines it as "the use of a website to connect with people who share personal or professional interests, place of origin, education at a particular school, etc"
Social Network Sites - "web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system." from: http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html
Sexting - "the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photographs, primarily between mobile phones. " from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexting
Chat - "the informal ‘conversational’ communication between users of the internet while they are online. This can be direct one-on-one chat using tools such as instant messaging (IM), chat rooms or SMS. It can also be text-based group chat through mediums such as Internet Relay Chat, online forums and Wikis." Source: http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/Glossary.aspx
Chat Room - "a place on the internet where people with similar interests can meet and communicate together by typing messages on their computer. People can often enter an unmoderated chat room without any verification of who they are." from http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/Glossary.aspx
Profile - "information about a user. A profile may contain details such as the user’s name, address, interests and pictures. Profiles are commonly used on social networking websites or when customising the information received from a website. " from http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/Glossary.aspx
Grooming - "Online grooming occurs when an adult takes deliberate actions to befriend and establish an emotional connection with a child in order to lower the child’s inhibitions with the intent of later having sexual contact. It may include situations where adults pose as children in chat rooms or social networking sites and ‘befriend’ children in order to make arrangements to meet with them in person." from: http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/Glossary.aspx
Troll -"An outrageous message posted on a forum, chat site or wiki to bait people to answer. Trolling is a form of harassment that can take over a discussion. Well-meaning defenders can create chaos by responding to trolls." from: http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/Glossary.aspx
This Glossary site can aslo give you many other definitions if you are unsure what a particular word means in the cyber world.
Risks of Social Networking
When you start to consider the risks involved in online social networking, please remember what all "cyber" includes. Not only the computers and laptops in your home, school or office, but also all the cellphones, PDAs, I-Pads, and even your children's gaming systems.
Risks include (not all inclusive):
Identity theft including phishing
Cyberstalking
Cyberbullying
Sexual exploitation
Future effects on college applications
Future effects on job applications
ConsumerAffairs.com has a wealth of information about many of these risks and great examples of the consequences. Articles of particular interest included Employers Using Social Networking Sites..., Facebook Agrees to Upgrade Safety Measures, and MySpace Agrees To Toughen Security For Young Users.
Watch this online demonstration as to just how easily your child's identity and whereabouts can be determined via social network sites and other online tools: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/Multimedia/NCMEC%20Video%202.exe
View this site: Not Among Friends: The Dangers of Social Networks for a very interesting report of how easy it is to misuse social networking sites such as Twitter, MySpace, and Linkedin and the results of this misuse.
Read this article: MySpace: Your Kids' Danger concerning sexual assault via the Internet. It warns that more than 2600 incidents were reported in 2005 of adults using the Internet to entice children; it also mentions three specific cases.
What is the risk that a child might be involved in sexting? According to one survey,
- 71 percent of teen girls have sent or posted this content to a boyfriend or girlfriend
- 51 percent of teen girls say they do it because of pressure from a guy
- 66 percent of teen girls and 60 percent of teen boys do it to be "fun or flirtatious"
- 44 percent of teen girls and boys say they did it in response to content they received
- 44 percent of teen girls say it is common for these images to be shared with people not intended to see it
- 38 percent say that "exchanging sexually suggestive content makes dating or hooking up with others more likely"
- 29 percent of teens say that exchanging explicit content makes them feel "expected" to date or hook up
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| http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-stats-facts-2011/ |
From my research, I have concluded a few basic guidelines to follow on social networking sites:
1. THINK BEFORE YOU POST.
2. Know your sites and check your profile regularly for information that is too personal or inappropriate.
3. Know how to remove personal information if you decide it is risky; i.e. full name or address, time schedules, or school data.
4. Check privacy settings often; many sites are updating these often --- use them!
5. Don't give out personal information or share passwords.
6. Parents communicate and monitor and teachers educate and monitor!
7. Watch for new sites regularly...there are many out there that you might never have heard of.
For specific tips that are age appropriate, please see this site: http://www.netsmartz.com/. It has a wealth of information on it including "Tip Sheets" on nearly every topic, including social networking, sexting, and gaming. It has Tip Sheets for parents, kids, tweens and teens -- A MUST READ!
Netsmartz.org has a great information sheet about cell phone safety at this site: http://www.netsmartz.org/CellPhones . It also has a page about privacy settings for Facebook on smartphones...check it out: http://www.netsmartz411.org/ .
Here is one more good site for tips and other resources for parents, teens and younger students: http://www.safekids.com/safe-blogging-tips/ .
Worthy Notes:
This powerful website, GuardChild.com makes the following notes of great value:
Only 15% of parents are "in the know" about their kids' social networking habits, and how these behaviors can lead to cyberbullying.
70% of children 7 to 18 years old have accidentally encountered online pornography, often through a web search while doing homework
The largest group of Internet porn consumers is children ages 12-17
86% of girls claimed to be able to conduct online chats without their parents knowing, 57% could read their parents' e-mail, and 54% could conduct a cyber relationship.
90% of children ages 8-16 have seen online pornography.
96% of teens use social networking applications such as Facebook, MySpace, Chat rooms, and blogs
95% of parents don't know common chat room acronyms teenagers use such as when a parent is watching. The acronyms are POS (parent over shoulder), P911 (parent alert), and A/S/L (age/sex/location).
How and When to Report Concerns
Children should first report anything online that makes them "feel" uncomfortable to their parents and/or school personnel. Then, depending on the specifics, reports should be made to law enforcement, your ISP, and the website's webmaster.
Facebook - Report Facebook Abuse
MySpace - Report MySpace Abuse
Twitter - Report Twitter Abuse
The CyberTipline is a Congressionally mandated reporting system for sexual exploitation of children. This encompasses many areas; you may read the details of all that can be reported at: http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=2447.
How many crimes are reported to this site? 3668 total for the week ending January 31, 2011, including 77 "Online Enticement of Children for Sexual Acts". Look here for more: http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/documents/CyberTiplineFactSheet.pdf .
This department of Justice website explains what and where to report most cyber crimes: http://www.cybercrime.gov/reporting.htm#cc
Obscenitycrimes.org is a "resource for educating the public and for reporting possible violations of internet obscenity laws". http://www.obscenitycrimes.org/index.php
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| http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-stats-facts-2011/ |
Cybertipline reports led to arrest of a suspect who had exploited boys through Xbox Live Chat. read article at: http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=376
Two Case Studies from the Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force - this article talks about the 2 case studies, one perpetrator arrested, one not. It also contains good information.
Teenager Beaten by Other Teens....... for the sheer "pleasure" of posting it on the Internet.
Additional Resources:
How to Blog Safely - http://www.eff.org/wp/blog-safely
http://www.obscenitycrimes.org/news/news.php
Social Networking Sites: How They are Used to Perpetrate Criminal Activity and How Law Enforcement Uses Them as an Investigative Tool
So, what does it C.O.S.T. you to be cyber safe?????.......not nearly as much as it might C.O.S.T. you if you are not!
