Could the internet "kill" your children??

It's no secret... There are criminals actively targeting your teenagers online right now.

The father of Christina Long, a young girl killed by an online predator, said he would "give anything to take that computer back," and that he had "no hint" of what she was doing with the computer.¹  The body of Katherine Olson was found in the trunk of her car after going to a babysitting job she found online.²  Kacie Rene Woody, a 13 year-old girl, was kidnapped and killed by a predator she met in a chat room.³  Judy Cajuste, a 14 year-old girl from New Jersey, was murdered.  Police suspect an online predator.⁴  Police are investigating online predator involvement in the killing of 15-year-old Kayla Reed in Northern California.⁵

It's an unfortunate but true fact.  The Internet is quickly becoming a powerful tool for criminals to attack and exploit children.  One technique sexual predators use is to pretend to be an interested friend in chat rooms until they develop a relationship with your child.  Then the predator requests personal information such as your child's phone number and address.  The results are often too scary to imagine.

Risk Online

It is important to note the types of dangers that children may be susceptible to on the Internet. In addition to the useful and educational information available on the Internet, a great deal of content exists that is not appropriate for children. This content can include nudity or other sexually explicit material; hate group or racist web sites; promotional material about tobacco, alcohol, or drugs, graphic violence, information on satanic or cult groups, or even recipes for making bombs or other explosives.

Unfortunately child pornography is frequently exchanged via the Internet, and sexual predators can use the Internet to try to reach out to children for sexual purposes. Children could be targets of cyberstalking or harassment that includes repeated and unwanted contact through the Internet that is rude or threatening. Also, people can send viruses to other computers that could damage or destroy your hard drive.

Other Internet dangers to children include sexual exploitation or enticement. Sexual predators may target children online while maintaining relative anonymity. The nature of online interaction facilitates deception about the predator's identity, age, and intentions. Millions of children online form a large pool from which predators can select victims. Thus parents and educators need to carefully supervise children's activities while they are on the Internet.

Sexual predators frequent various chatrooms looking for children. These predators target likely victims; make contact; and work to develop friendship, emotional reliance, and interest in sexual topics. He or she may initiate offline sexual relations quickly or spend months "grooming" the child towards a sexual relationship. Sexual predators may use material goods, such as compact disks and games, to attract children offline. There have been cases in which predators have sent children bus tickets or money to cover the cost of travel or traveled to meet children.

The natural characteristics of children may facilitate victimization. Children of all ages have a lack of emotional maturity that can make them more susceptible to manipulation or intimidation. Also they have a strong desire for attention, validation, and affection along with a lack of caution or self-preservation. Children are taught to obey adult requests and demands and may be less likely to know when it isn't appropriate to do so. In addition, children are naturally curious about sex and other "forbidden" topics. It is important to note that children also may be hesitant to tell a trusted adult if they are approached in an inappropriate way, because of a feeling of embarrassment or the stigma of being a "tattletale.

It is also important to note that children may become involved in criminal activity on the Internet. Children can be the perpetrators in sexual exploitation or harassment cases. Other crimes that children may engage in include sending viruses, hacking, gambling, the illegal purchase or distribution of narcotics and weapons, fraud, and the illegal copying of software or other copyrighted material.

The dangers of using other blogs for inspiration

Blogs are just as much online communities as forums are. Whilst with a blog the author makes much of the content, really good blogs involve interaction through the comments feature. In this post I want to write about the dangers of using other blogs for inspiration for your own articles.
If you are committed to your blog, I would suggest making at least one post per day – something which I always try my best to do. It can be harder on some days than others to find the inspiration to write an original article. Writer’s block can extend to bloggers too!
During these moments of ‘blogger’s block’ you may start to remember posts you have recently read on other blogs and decide to write an article on that subject. Whilst there is nothing wrong in using other blogs for inspiration, you have to be careful.

Things u should take note..

1)Do not have an online profile.

As most blogging services allow bloggers to create an online profile. While it might be fun to post information about likes and dislikes, it is best to refrain from posting any personal details. Often, personal details inadvertently provide insight into physical location or habits. The aggregate information in a personal profile can also assist someone interested in pursuing an individual.
2)  Post anonymously

Manage your blog anonymously or adopt an alias for all online posting. This will help protect you in the event that you draw unwanted attention.

3)Avoid personal or identifying details.

Avoid any personal or identifying details when posting in your blog. Do not post in advance about locations that you will be or about areas that you live near.

4)No photos

Refrain from posting a picture. Photos can invite trouble or unwanted attention.

5)Avoid inappropriate dialogues

Be careful not to engage in dialogue that could be interpreted in a way that it was not intended. Sometimes humorous threads can get out of hand. If the dialogue degrades to an area that makes you uncomfortable, disengage from the dialogue and refrain from further posting. Also when making decisions about individuals online, consider their past posting behavior and attempt to consider their true intentions.
6)Lurkers

Always remember that just because you do not have a dialogue with someone does not mean that they are not reading everything that you write. Many people merely lurk on line and don't engage in comment posting, but do read what is written. Your audience could be much larger than you realize.

7)Timeless

Internet content is timeless, and keep in mind that even if you remove content, it might be archived or syndicated. If you do not want something read, do not post it to the Internet. High Schools, Colleges and Employers all search the Internet to discern an individuals history. Sordid details about a late night will not help land a coveted job.

The internet is a haven for all types of predators. Always remember that just because someone says something is true, does not mean that it is. Predators adopt personas of who they think you want them to be. Just as we provide guidelines to young children, adults should be wary and take precautions when posting online as well.

While blogging can be a great outlet and channel, and in someway immortalizing thoughts, it is important that safety is considered and that good blogging practices are followed at all times.

Lets see what an expert says

They just had a big TV special on Dr. Phil about Cyber Bullying and the kids that are committing suicide over it. It seems to come mostly, from what they are saying, with kids picking on other kids that they think are gay mostly; but, it is a horrendous thing to be going on.

Dr. Phil asked a lot of teens about it and they seems to all know a lot of kids who were bullied but not to that extreme they thought. His feeling was if you are there and see them bullying someone it's your obligation to speak up and say something about it to either try to get them to stop it or to report it to authorities before it gets out of hand. They say an alarming number of kids from 10 to 18 are committing suicide over being bullied and it's so hard to control now with so much of it being online and in myspace and facebook and youtube and all over the net.

Have you heard of or seen any of these things going on anywhere?

It has to be horrible to leave someone that young thinking the only way they have out of it is to take their lives. These kids are jumping off bridges after leaving notes on facebook and other places or doing other things to take their lives.

What can we do to try to help stop this situation?

Do you know of any that this has happened to in your area? So many of the parents and others are totally shocked when this happens. They say they knew nothing about it.

This world has got to change. We should be lifting each other up and not tearing each other down. The world is a hard enough place to live in and make our way through with problems we can't avoid. What can we do to make it a better place????

What is Cyber wellness???

Cyber Wellness refers to the positive well-being of Internet users. It involves an understanding of the risks of harmful online behaviours, an awareness of how to protect oneself and other Internet users from such behaviours.

More more more

In 2008, two cyber wellness comic books from MOE were published to help students to acquire safe and responsible online behaviours. Through engaging stories enacted through characters that appeal to students' age group, the books provide useful learning points for students when they enter cyberspace. The stories also cover key challenges in the cyberspace such as games addiction, copyrights and dangers with cyber contacts. There are also questions at the end of each story to help our students think and reflect on what they have learnt.