Cybersafety

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Cybersafety

• By Charlotte Ballard, Librarian
• Wells Middle School

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Tools are not dangerous, but people can be.

• The Internet is a powerful tool that can be used
  for good or bad.
• Online predators are real. They are actively
  seeking victims around the clock.
• Cyberbullies may feel powerful because they feel
  anonymous. Sometimes cyberbullies dont care if
  others know who they are.

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The danger is real.

• An Arkansas teenager was murdered by a man she
  met online. He found her home, assaulted, and
  murdered her.
• A 15-year-old girl met a couple in online chat
  who offered to help her run away. They held her
  in their home for one week and took her to
  another home where she was assaulted by a third
  person. They threatened to kill her.
• A Vermont boy killed himself after receiving
  threatening and harassing Instant Messages.
• Cyberbullying has led to criminal charges and
  lawsuits.

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How to Endanger Yourself Online

• Use your real name.
• Use a fake name that gives away your gender.
• Post your profile on public spaces.
• Post your picture.
• Post your location home towns name or your
  schools name or pictures with identifying
  landmarks.

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Endangering Yourself, cont.

• Give out your phone number somewhere online using
  the same username you think is private elsewhere.
• Respond to Instant Messages from people you have
  not met personally.
• Trust people youve only met online and not in
  person. Put more trust in them than in people
  you do know.

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Endangering Yourself, cont.

• Agree to meet someone youve only met online.
  Even taking your friends may not help.
• Download files from unknown sources, particularly
  anything to do with web cams.
• Enter contests or free give-aways that
  require you to provide personal information.

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Endangering Yourself, cont.

• Let your guard down.
• Forget you are not in a private place when you
  let slip your parents or siblings or school or
  home town names.
• Do things you wouldnt normally do out of anger
  toward your parents.
• Do things you wouldnt do if you werent feeling
  depressed.

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Endangering Yourself, cont.

• Use a web cam, especially in your bedroom.

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Social Networking Sites

• MySpace, Facebook, Xanga, and others
• Second Life and virtual on line worlds
• You can limit your friends but every friend
  of your friends has access to your page also.
• Some teens profiles get 20,000 hits. Getting
  hits is not a cool thing. It likely means
  predators are checking you out.

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Real life examples

• Real Life Stories
• Cybersafety for you and your family

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Questions

• Why would a person trust an online friend?
• Why would a person keep secrets from parents
  about online friends?
• Why is cyberbullying dangerous?
• How can you protect yourself when you are online?

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References

• www.netsmartz.org
• http//www.ctap4.org/cybersafety/