Online Safety

The Internet can be a great way to stay connected with people and to find information.  However, there are some important things that you should know in terms of keeping safe online. Below we will discuss two major topics in terms of youth online activity and safety which includes Cyberbullying and Privacy Measures.

​Cyberbullying
​This is when someone harasses or tries to intimidate another person online.

• Sometimes occurs in real-life and spills over into online such as negative comments to another person in social media chats and messages
• Generally not a one-time occurrence but happens a number of times
• Sometimes a cyberbully is someone you know but it could be someone who is anonymous (or is not using their real name)
• This person will often try to exert power over you and make threats
• They may try to find ways to embarrass you or try to keep you from going to an adult for help

What can you do to protect yourself?

• Talk to a trusted adult about what is going on
• Don’t participate in interacting with the cyberbully
• Don’t delete the messages because they may be needed later on as evidence
• Report what is happening to the administrator of the social media site

www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Youth-Internet-Safety_v07.pdf
https://www.ncpc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/NCPC_Cyberbullying-TipSheet-TipsForTeens.pdf

Protecting Your Privacy
There are a lot of people on the Internet that don’t always have the best of intentions.  These people can be considered predators and can do harm by trying to solicit (try to you get you to do things) that you don’t want to do.  This can be from a direct contact online or you may come across a website that has a disturbing pop-up.  You may also receive an email from a stranger asking for help or trying to get you to do something.  Or they may place a link in a message that you receive which could either expose you to disturbing content or that link may be a virus that intends to steal all of your person information from your computer or other device. But there are ways in which you can protect yourself.

• First, it is important to remember that once you put something out on the Internet or even send a text message that will never go away, and it can have lasting effects so be cautious of the information you put out. 
• Don’t share too much personal information such as telling people where you live, or where you are going. 
• Remember that when you are sharing pictures or videos those give people extra personal information about you.
• Make sure that you have your privacy settings activated properly.
• Don’t share your passwords with your friends.
• Use strong passwords on your devices and the sites that you use.
• Know that when you are accessing a public WiFi for Internet that it is not secure and other people can access what you are doing online.
• Trust your instincts if you think that an email doesn’t look right then delete it, or if you are on a site leave it immediately.  Don’t click on links sent to you by strangers.  You can also block senders and sites as well so that they no longer have access to communicate with you.
• Ask your parents or another trusted adult for help.

https://staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/managing-your-privacy/privacy-tips-teens/