By Joan Goodchild, Community Reporter
Shrewsbury – How many parents would allow their child to go out for the night without asking questions first about where they are going, what they will be doing and who they will be with? Not many, according to Worcester County Assistant District Attorney Julie Lesure. Yet that is exactly what parents do each day when they allow their children to use the Internet without supervision.
Lesure spoke as part of a three-member panel presentation called “How to Keep Your Child Safe Online” March 22 at Oak Middle School in Shrewsbury. Lesure outlined some of the many dangers children face now with online use, including being targeted by pedophiles, cyber bullying, stalking and harassment, hacking and identity theft or fraud.
She noted while parents monitor their child's computer use at home, they are often unaware of how they are using computers outside the house in places such as school and the library. When children are able to search the Internet without restraint, they can be exposed to pornography, violent websites and videos of inappropriate behavior, such as drug abuse.
“Get tech-savvy,” she advised parents in attendance. “Consider drawing up a contract with your child about appropriate computer use that says “Follow these rules or the computer is going away.””
Lesure also suggested parents discuss issues such as empathy with their children and help them understand words have power and that things they say online are just as hurtful as if they are said in person. She also warned parents to discuss the implications of digital pictures, such as those often taken now with cell phones. Lesure said she is seeing an increasing number of cases of children who are snapping photos of friends in the nude and then sending them off for many others to see.
“The effect is devastating on the victim,” she said.
“Constantly go over it with kids,” she advised. “Don's take or receive pictures. Don's trust a boyfriend or a girlfriend now who wants a picture because a picture is forever, and relationships often are not.”
The other presenters, Amy Kotsopoulos and Judy Vedder, of Aruker Communications, offered more technical information about the popular sites children use online these days and how to understand and navigate them.
Kotsopoulos gave details about how to configure privacy settings on Facebook to keep a profile as private as possible. She also advised parents to have a child's password to any accounts they access and to check on them regularly using the password. If you think your child may be using an alternative Facebook account to avoid being watched, Google their name and see what comes up. A Google search may turn up information and activity that you did not know is out there.
Kotsopoulos also noted that many teens are now using Twitter, rather than Facebook, to have conversations and she advised parents to look there for potentially risky behavior. But even with a firm understanding of the popular sites and technology trends among kids today, the most important way to keep your child safe online is with regular conversation.
“The number-one safety tip I have is to talk with your child,” Kotsopoulos said.
