Internet/Cell Phone Safety: Protecting Our Kids

1. Kimberly Guerrazzi
Central Michigan University – EDU 653

2.  Internet as an educational tool
 Cyberbullying
 Texting for Dummies
 Criminal Law & Michigan Penal
Code
 Questions & Answers

3.  As of September 2009, 93% of American teens between
the ages of 12 and 17 went online, a number that has
remained stable since November 2006. In comparison,
adults are less likely than teens to be online. As of
December 2009, 74% of adults use the internet.
(Lenhart, 2010)
 Some 75% of American teens ages 12-17 have a cell
phone. (Lenhart, 2010)

4. Students Actually Use the Internet for Education
New research released by the
National School Boards Association reveals data
showing we all might need to reevaluate our
assumptions: It turns out kids are actually using
the Internet for educational purposes. In fact,
according to the study, "Creating & Connecting:
Research and Guidelines on Online Social--and
Educational--Networking," the percentage of
children specifically discussing schoolwork
online outpaces the percentage that spend time
downloading music.

5. Students Actually Use the Internet for Education
Sample: 1,277 9- to 17-year-olds, 1,039 parents,
and 250 school district leaders
Source: NSBA Study: “Creating & Connecting: Research and Guidelines
on Online Social-and Educational-Networking.” July 2007

6. Students Actually Use the Internet for Education
Further, these students are spending almost as much
time on the Internet visiting websites and social
networking services (nine hours per week for teens)
as they spend watching television (10 hours).
A full 96 percent of students surveyed responded that
they use the Internet for social networking purposes,
including Facebook, MySpace, Webkins, and
Nick.com chat. Seventy-one percent said they use
these services at least on a weekly basis.
Source: NSBA Study: “Creating & Connecting: Research and
Guidelines on Online Social-and Educational-Networking.” July 2007

7. Students Actually Use the Internet for Education
Source: NSBA Study: “Creating & Connecting: Research and Guidelines on
Online Social-and Educational-Networking.” July 2007

8. The National Crime Prevention Council's definition
of cyber-bullying is "when the Internet, cell phones
or other devices are used to send or post text or
images intended to hurt or embarrass another
person. Cyberbullying is a problem that affects
almost half of all American teens. “ (NCPC, 2010)
Images from Microsoft ClipArt

9.  With cyber bullying, there isn’t physical violence. However,
cyber bullying may lead down that path.
 Research has shown that cyber bullying has longer lasting and
detrimental effects.
 Virtually everyone has been a victim of bullying at some point
in their life. And think about the impact it had on you.
Bullying had short-term side effects. In a week, you may have
forgotten about the whole situation.
 With cyberbullying, it is different. Hurtful words written in
online blogs do not disappear. Provocative pictures that a
fellow classmate has created of you and posted on the web
will continue being downloaded from computer to computer
or forwarded from cell phone to cell phone. You cannot hide
yourself from it.

10. 1) A web site about teenager David Knight of Burlington, Ontario had been active for
several months before a classmate told him about it. "I went there and sure enough
there's my photo on this web site saying 'Welcome to the web site that makes fun of
Dave Knight' and just pages of hateful comments directed at me and everyone in my
family." Whoever created the web site asked others to join in, posting lewd, sexual
comments and smearing David's reputation. "I was accused of being a pedophile. I was
accused of using the date rape drug on little boys," says David. Along with the web
site, there were nasty e-mails too. "Here's an e-mail, 'You're gay, don't ever talk again,
no one likes you, you're immature and dirty, go wash your face.'
2) Amanda Marcuson, 14, of Birmingham, Michigan, reported some girls in her eighth-
grade class for stealing a pencil case filled with makeup that belonged to her. As soon
as she got home, the instant messages started popping up on her computer screen. She
was a tattletale and a liar, they said. Shaken, she typed back, ''You stole my stuff!'' She
was a ''stuck-up bitch,'' came the instant response in the box on the screen, followed by
a series of increasingly ugly insults. That evening, Amanda went to a basketball game
with her family. But the barrage of electronic insults did not stop. Like a lot of other
teenagers, Amanda has her Internet messages automatically forwarded to her cell
phone, and by the end of the game she had received 50 - the limit of its capacity. ''It
seems like people can say a lot worse things to someone online than when they're
actually talking to them,'' said Amanda. The girls never said another word to her in
person.
(Jackson, 2005)

11.  42% of kids have been bullied while online. 1 in 4 have had it
happen more than once.
 35% of kids have been threatened online. Nearly 1 in 5 have
had it happen more than once.
 21% of kids have received mean or threatening e-mail or other
messages.
 58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to
them online. More than 4 out of 10 say it has happened more
than once.
 53% of kids admit having said something mean or hurtful to
another person online. More than 1 in 3 have done it more
than once.
 58% have not told their parents or an adult about something
mean or hurtful that happened to them online.
Based on 2004 i-SAFE survey of 1,500 students grades 4-8 (i-Safe, 2004)

12.  Tell a trusted adult about the bullying, and keep telling until
the adult takes action.
 Don’t open or read messages by cyber bullies.
 Tell your school if it is school related. Schools have a bullying
solution in place.
 Don’t erase the messages—they may be needed to take action.
 Protect yourself—never agree to meet with the person or with
anyone you meet online.
 If bullied through chat or instant messaging, the “bully” can
often be blocked.
 If you are threatened with harm, inform the local police.
Based on 2004 i-SAFE survey of 1,500 students grades 4-8 (i-Safe, 2004)

13. 4COL
For Crying Out Loud
BTW
By the Way
G/F
Girlfriend
G2CU
Good to see you
GR8
Great
IDTS
I don’t think so
IRMC
I rest my case
LOL
Laugh out loud

14. NBD
No big deal
NOYB
None of your business
RME
Rolling my eyes
ROFL
Rolling on the floor laughing
TMI
Too much information
TSTB
The sooner the better
U
You
UR
You Are

15. The following are examples of cyber bullying that
are classified under criminal law:
Threats of violence Obscene telephone
calls
Stalking Child pornography
But how can victims of cyber bullying tell who is behind
the computer screen or cellphone?
Images from Microsoft Clip Art

16.  Section 750.145a. Accosting, enticing or
soliciting child for immoral purpose:
 Distribution of any child sexually abusive material –
guilty of a felony punishable by 7 years imprisonment
and a fine of $50,000.
 Possession of child sexually abusive material – guilty
of a felony punishable by 4 years imprisonment and a
fine of $10,000.
 Subpoena phone records, chat logs.
(Michigan Legislature, 2002)

17.  Approximately one in seven youth online (10 to 17-years-old)
received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet.
 Four percent (4%) received an aggressive sexual solicitation - a
solicitor who asked to meet them somewhere; called them on the
telephone; or sent them offline mail, money, or gifts.
 Thirty-four percent (34%) had an unwanted exposure to sexual
material -- pictures of naked people or people having sex.
 Twenty-seven percent (27%) of the youth who encountered
unwanted sexual material told a parent or guardian. If the encounter
was defined as distressing - episodes that made them feel very or
extremely upset or afraid - forty-two percent (42%) told a parent or
guardian.
(National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2006)

18.  Sometimes good kids make bad choices…
 Don’t assume what is sent is private and can’t
be forwarded or edited.
 “Techno Toughness!”

19. Teachers
Law Enforcement
Parents

20. 1. Communicate with your children, discuss consequences
2. Be aware of the computers your kids are using, keep them in
a public area. If they shut the computer when you enter the
room – be suspicious.
3. Let children show you what they can do online, visit their
favorite sites. Check the Internet history.
4. Ensure your kids keep their identity private, and they
remember who they are talking to may not be who they state
they are.
5. Limit/monitor texting, check text logs & photos.
6. Love your kids. It is a whole lot different growing up today.

21. “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more
perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success,
than to take the lead in the introduction of a new
order of things.”
-Machiavelli, The Prince

22.  Social Media and Young Adults. Lenhart, Amanda; Purcell, Kristen; Smith,
Aaron; and Kathryn Zickuhr. Pew Internet and American Life Project.
February 2010. Retrieved 10-29-10.
 CREATING & CONNECTING - Research and Guidelines on Online
Social — and Educational — Networking. National School Boards
Association. July 2007. Retrieved 10-29-10.
 Cyberbullying. Jackson, Drew. April 2005. Retrieved 10-30-10.
 Cyberbullying. National Crime Prevention Council. Retrieved 10-29-10.
 Cyber Bulling: Statistics and Tips. i-Safe. 2004 Survey. Retrieved 10-29-10.
 Michigan Penal Code (An Excerpt): Act 328 of 1931. Michigan Legislature.
Effective June 2002. Retrieved 10-30-10.
 Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later. David Finkelhor,
Kimberly J. Mitchell, and Janis Wolak. National Center for Missing &
Exploited Children, 2006, pages 7-8, 33. Retrieved 10-29-10.