Internet Safety and Mobile Phone Technology

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Internet Safety and Mobile Phone Technology 10th
March 2009 Daragh Comerford
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What we will discuss

• Misconceptions
• Media in the home?
• What communications technology are in the pockets
  of our children?
• Social networking/on-line profiles
• On-line chat
• Internet at home
• Advice
• Questions

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Why am I here?

• My background
• Current trends at school
• Current trends in the home
• Trying to keep ahead or at least up with the game!

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Misconceptions

• Our children are relatively aware
• Paedophiles do not lurk behind every screen
• The old paradigm of adults preying on children
  has been replaced by children preying on
  themselves
• The Internet can be a safe place
• facebook (Social networking sites) can be used
  safely
• Mobile Phone and integrated technology are here
  to stay

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Media in the home

• Plato spoke of the role of messengers from
  outside The Republic
• IM did not exist prior to 1999
• Our children would be described as Media Rich
• 21 saying that there are no rules governing what
  games that they can play
• 42 of children admit to deleting Internet History

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Media in the home

• Media exposure
• Eg Digital recording TV
• Eg TV -gt Computer -gt TV (Downstairs) -gt TV
  (upstairs)
• Messaging accounting for 17 of time on a
  computer
• Direct correlation between sensation seekers
  and media exposure
• No clear correlation between attainment marks at
  school and media exposure

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Where are we with Mobile Phones?

• over 81 of all school children aged between 15
  and 18 have a mobile phone
• the models of phones they use are typically two
  years more modern than their parents
• 65 of 12 to 14 year olds have a mobile phone and
  this number increased by 8 in the last two years

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Your Childs Mobile Phone

• Internet
• SMS via bluetooth
• Gaming
• Video playing/recording
• Sound playing/recording
• Photography
• Remote control
• What is next?

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How do they use the phone?

• Messaging
• Fashion statement
• Phones are very important
• Take the phone away?
• How do schools deal with the phone? embrace or
  expel?

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Social Networking

• facebook
• Do you tell the truth? Children are much more
  likely to
• Very important part of their life
• The information is not yours
• Childish behaviour can have severe consequences

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Internet use

• There is vast difference in perception of
  supervision

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Internet Trends

• Pornography
• MSN(ing)
• Gaming
• Gambling

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Pornography

• Children are accessing hardcore pornography on
  average at the age of 11, compared to 14 eleven
  years ago
• Sexual imagery ingrained on sexually immature
  minds
• Australian study found that as much as the
  figures are much larger for boys, 20 of teenage
  girls between the ages of 13 and 16 have accessed
  hardcore pornography deliberately.

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MSN(ing)

• Distraction
• 39 of students in the UK admit to on-line
  messaging whilst doing their homework
• Bullying (both protagonists and victims)
• Social pressures
• Many more facets

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MSN(ing)
What does LOL mean?
Laugh Out Loud
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What does BRB mean?
Be Right Back
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What does a/s/l mean?
Age/sex/location
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What does POS mean?
Parent Over Shoulder
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What does P911 mean?
Parent Alert
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Gaming

• Large amount of time utilised on gaming
  environments
• Parallel social environments created
• Virtual world can give the anonymity
• Online gaming growth only highlights the issue

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Gambling

• Worrying research
• Not necessarily with real money
• Huge industry and growing exposure from
  advertising

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Advice

• Are we buying the right phones??
• Access points at home
• Parental Filters and the monitoring
• Open conversation about Internet use
• Seek further advice

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Links to great parental filter software

• Free Software
• http//www.snapfiles.com/get/pfilter.html
• http//www.parentalcontrolbar.org/
• http//www.tucows.com/preview/336406
• Software to Buy
• http//www.sentryparentalcontrols.co.uk/?gclidCIG
  z26y5lZkCFYh_3godalAGYg (With Free Trial)
• http//store.norman.com/store/norman/en_GB/Content
  /pbPage.parentalcontrol_uk/Currency.GBP

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? dcomerford_at_britishschool.be