It’s past Christmas, and many kids have shiny new devices that access the internet. I figured it might be a good time to share some reminders for all of us to think about and share with our kids. We have to protect them and teach them to protect themselves! Here are 8 Internet Safety Tips for Kids, Tweens and Teens.
1. Never post your personal information (cell phone number, address, name of your school, etc) – even on Facebook. The same goes for your friends’ or family members’ information.
2. Be aware that anything you put online is online <b>forever</b>. Even if you delete it, it’s accessible and can be used against you for many things – including jobs in the future!
3. If you don’t know someone in real life, you don’t know them online, so you shouldn’t add them to your friends list. You might <i>think</i> you know them, but it’s very easy to lie! Never meet someone in person that you’ve “met” online.
4. Keep your password private – nobody except you and your parent(s) should know it. Period.
5. Photos, photos, photos… your photos can be stolen and used for other (read: perverted) purposes. Also, someone could steal your photos and pretend that they are photos of themselves! So, when you post photos, keep that in mind. <b>Never</b> send photos to people (even through text) that you wouldn’t want the entire world to see. Wouldn’t send the photo to your parents? Then don’t send it to anyone else!
6. Lock it down – if you’re on Facebook, have your parent(s) check over your privacy settings to make sure nothing is public. You don’t want strangers accessing your (or your friends’) information.
7. Before you open an email attachment, be sure to scan it for viruses – or if you’re not sure how to do that, talk to your parents about it so they can. Never open an attachment from someone you don’t know.
8. If you receive a rude text or email, do not respond to it. Let your parent(s) know about it, so they can keep an eye out if it turns into something more serious. If someone posts something rude on your social networks, delete the post – and possibly delete the friend.
