Best Parental Control

Filed under: Internet Safety Tips, Sharing Info Online, Technology, Articles of Interest

According to this article from TechCrunch, teens know about Twitter, but don’t use it because it “doesn’t feel safe”.

From the article: “The way my friends and I see it, Facebook is a closed network. It’s a network of people and friends that you trust to be connected to, and to share information like your email address, AIM screen name, and phone number. You know who’s getting your status messages, because you either approved or added each person to your network.”

I knew that Twitter didn’t appeal to teens. The statistics noted in the article say that only 4.4% of Twitter’s visitors are under 18. I just didn’t know why. Reading this both confuses me and gives me hope.

All the messages that parents, teachers and industry folks such as myself, are excited to see evidence that teens do know about online safety and are taking a proactive role to be safe. On the other hand, there still seems to be a misconception about online safety, what is and isn’t private, and what information is available to those who know the tricks.

For example, I am a pretty active user on Facebook. Just this week I learned that Facebook is letting advertisers use your picture in their advertising. This is something that you can opt out of, but finding out that it is happening so you can choose to opt out of it is another issue. This is just one more example showing that information online is not always as private as you thought it was.

There is hope. Teens have the desire to be safe while online. And generally they are doing their due diligence and practicing safe behaviors. We still have work to do, but I see this as good news.

By the way, there are instructions linked in the article telling you how to opt out of the Facebook practice of using pictures in ads, in case you are interested.

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Posted in Parental Control News No Comments Tags: aim screen name, due diligence, industry folks, internet safety tips, twitter

Filed under: Internet Safety Tips, Technology, Parental Controls, Articles of Interest

Do any or all of the following apply to you as a parent?
– Concerned about their kids’ online safety
– Don’t use parental controls
– Installed parental controls, but never adjusted the settings
– Have a computer hooked up to the Internet in a child or teen’s bedroom
– Not sure what the kids do online because you don’t monitor their online activities

If so, you are not alone. This PC World article says that most parents ignore parental controls.It is hard to be a parent; it doesn’t need to be made harder by not giving kids and teens a safe environment to surf in. There are many programs that are ready for you to use, including AOL’s Parental Controls. Different programs offer different benefits, but there is certainly at least one that is good for your family.

There are a lot of reasons why parents haven’t been as proactive in online safety, but online safety is important. Take the first step now and research your options. Safety Clicks has posted on this topic with some good information on how to start. Then choose one that is the best fit for your family.

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Posted in Parental Control News No Comments Tags: best fit, internet safety tips, parental controls, pc world article, safety questions

Filed under: Internet Safety Tips, Sharing Info Online, Internet Dangers

Safety doesn’t always mean protecting against something physically dangerous. Sometimes it is just being careful about things you may not know about at all. This Switched article outlines several ways you might be breaking the law with your technological gadgets. Some may be a surprise to you.

There are a few that are not surprising at all; taking nude pictures with the cell phone, for example. Talking on the phone or texting while driving, even though it was never a good idea, is illegal in many states and cities.

Other ways to break the law with technology made me stop and think.There are a lot of fan fiction web sites that are dedicated to fans building a story further than the original author went. If you are a huge fan of a particular story, this can be a fun way to continue the story with other fans. Apparently some copyrights cover not only the story in its entirety, but also individual components and characters. This means that if you take your favorite character on a new adventure he or she was never on, you could be violating the copyright and could be asked to take it down.

With the advent of digital cameras, people (myself included) are taking far more pictures than ever before). With more and more photographers out there, sites like www.shutterstock.com have evolved, allowing anyone with a good eye for photography to upload images to sell as stock photos. Before you sell or make your photos publicly available, make sure you have the permission of everyone in the picture to use their image. There are model releases available on sites that will buy your pictures.

There are thousands, upon thousands of web sites on the Internet. Most of them (especially those used for personal use) were inspired by something else online, have something from another site, or at least were inspired by another online source. Sometimes it is fine, other times it is a copyright violation. Creativecommons.org has developed a way to share your own creative license, while still protecting what yourself.

Is there anything here you were surprised by? Have you been surprised by any other laws relating to technology?

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Posted in Parental Control News No Comments Tags: fiction web, good eye, internet safety tips, model releases, technological gadgets

Filed under: Internet Safety Tips, Cyberbullying, Online Safety Tips, Social Networking, Internet Dangers, Articles of Interest

I went to six different elementary schools. Some of the schools I went to, I did very well socially. Others, I was picked on and didn’t have many friends. As I got into Junior High and High School, I remember being picked on – but it was different. The older I got picking became more about mental and emotional abuse. Like many teen movies explain, everyone feels this way; even the seemingly “popular” crowd. Knowing this doesn’t always make it easier to be the one being picked on.

Just my own memories of being picked on gives a whole new perspective for those growing up with the Internet. When I went home, my friends in the neighborhood were not cruel, my parents were supportive and I had a sanctuary. There are a lot of teens who are being picked on now, come home and sign on to find that the harassment continues in their “sanctuary” (a.k.a. online).

According to this Forbes article, one in 10 students is affected by cyber bullying.

Since that is 10% of students, I have 10 tips that may help:

1. Tell someone about it. It may seem like you are being a tattle tale if you tell every time someone says anything to you, but it is important to let someone know if it evolves into more of a bullying behavior.
2. Report the online behavior to the online provider. Most services have a reporting functionality to report violations of their Terms of Service. And all responsible companies have policies against harassment.
3. Don’t bully back. It is tempting to retaliate and say something equally mean back to a harasser, but it only makes things worse.
4. Ignore it. As much as possible. Generally, harassers only harass as long as it is entertaining for them. If you ignore them, they will eventually give up and move on. This is not to suggest you don’t report the behavior – it is still worth turning them in. Just don’t tell them about it. Or tell them anything, actually.
5. Block the offenders from being able to communicate with you online. If you recognize an email or other message as potentially offensive, don’t open it – instead block the person and report it.
6. Ask a trusted adult to open the messages for you, so I they need to be kept for later action they can be, without having you have to read it.
7. Never agree to meet anyone you met online. This can be very dangerous.
8. If it the harassment or bullying is related to school in any way, let the school know.
9. Have a sanctuary. Surround yourself with people who make you feel good.
10. If it is bad enough, change your login names. This means your email address, profiles, etc. Then don’t advertise that you have a new address so the harassers don’t put any effort into trying to find it again. Only tell your family and a few trusted friends.

What other tips do you have to help with cyber bullying?

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Posted in Parental Control News No Comments Tags: forbes article, internet dangers, internet safety tips, popular crowd, tattle tale

Filed under: Internet Safety Tips, Sharing Info Online, Social Networking, Articles of Interest, Sexting

Part of growing up in America is testing out different looks, different personas and styles. Everyone goes through an “awkward” phase (at least one) when trying to find your own sense of fashion, personality and really defining what you want to portray to the world.

The online world is one place that teens can experiment with who they are with a small sense of anonymity. While participating in sports communities, you can be the rough and tough sports enthusiast. While on the technology sites, you can embrace your inner techno-geek. Keeping in touch with friends on the popular social networking sites is easy to be the easy-going, carefree person you know you are. The photo you post as your avatar/profile picture can show off any style you can imagine.

Your online persona isn’t a private dressing room though – it is public. This can be great, but it can also be detrimental.

We know that 20% of teens say they have been solicited online. A new study shows that the more provocative the online persona, the higher the chance of being solicited. This makes perfect sense. Sexy images (even those that are animated) or using sensual language sends a message that you are looking for a sexual relationship.

While you can use profiles and the Internet to try out new personality traits, make sure they are traits you actually want to portray. Remind yourself of the tips to keeping safe online and think about how people who don’t know you might see you.

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Posted in Parental Control News No Comments Tags: fashion personality, internet safety tips, new personality, private dressing room, social networking sites