+
Social Media Safety 101
for Parents
+
Welcome

The staff at Alex M. Martino Junior High wanted to make all
parents aware of the technology access that you as parents have
to help support your child.

There are conflicting views on whether or not we as parents
invade our children’s privacy if we access things like text
messages or Facebook status updates.

It is not like going into a diary or journal back in the day
because it is a communication tool that is no longer a private
thought but public knowledge.

It is important to be informed of the technology children are
using to communicate so we can communicate with them to
keep children safe.
+
Cyberbullying

Nearly 42% of kids have been bullied online and almost one
in four have had it happen more than once.

Nine out of ten middle school students have had their
feelings hurt online.

About 75% have visited a website bashing another student.

The psychological and emotional outcomes of cyber bullying
are similar to real-life bullying outcomes, except for the
reality that with cyber bullying there is often no escape.
School ends at 3 p.m., while the Internet is available all the
time. www.dosomething.org
+
Prevention

Engage your child in a conversation about how to behave online
(Netiquette).

Look at your child’s online profile and buddy list.

Talk to your child about the dangers of posting too much information.

Talk to your child about respecting others.

Explain that whatever is posted online stays online forever.

Explain to your child that he or she is not anonymous on the Internet.

Don’t threaten to take away the computer. This can prevent children from
telling you that they have been a victim of Cyberbullying.

Complete a Respect Contract with your child.
www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
+
What to do if your child is a victim
of Cyberbullying?

Print out all instances of
Cyberbullying.

Preserve electronic evidence.

If your child receives a mean
or threatening message, do
not delete the message.

You should take a screen shot
of the message or store the
message in a folder because it
may contain important
electronic information that can
help law enforcement trace
the source.

Google your child. You may
find other instances of your
child being victimized online!

Contact you local police
department to file a report.

Notify the school
administration of the situation
so the staff can make sure the
online bullying is not carrying
over to school.
www.illinoisattorneygeneral.g
ov
+
Facebook

You can defriend people so they
can not access you on Facebook.

To report about bullying, fake
accounts, etc. go to Help Center,
click on Report Abuse.

To change Security Settings, like
Enable SSL Encryption, visit the
Account Settings page.

Then choose "Security" from the
options on the left side of the
screen, click "Secure Browsing,”
Click "Edit" to
enable.http://www.cio.com/arti
cle/696212/4_Facebook_Securit
y_Tips_to_Stay_Safe_in_2012_

Privacy settings can be
customized. To see all of the
different ways go to the site
listed below.

http://mashable.com/2011/02/0
7/facebook-privacy-guide/
+
tumblr

www.tumblr.com is a blog
website students are on
currently.

There is a strong self harm
culture on tumblr.

Some people benefit from the
support available from the
members.

There can be influential and
graphic imagery as well as
statements to encourage self
harm in someone that has not
done it yet.

The main blog cannot be
marked as private however the
secondary blog can be.

The individual posts can be
marked private and only the
person writing them can view
them.

Tumblr has people that are fans
of specific interests that can be
alluring for students that are
curious about subculture
topics…which can get them
exposed to more mature
material for a teenager to
handle.
+
twitter

All twitter accounts default setting is PUBLIC.

Anyone in the world can look up your student by a simple
google search and see their entire twitter page.

You should encourage your student to change their profile
setting to private to help protect themselves.
+
Social Media Sites
that Teens are on

Ask.fm 13+ anonymous posts and comments

Omegle.com – messaging and video chat

Yikyak 17+ anonymous posts

Tinder 17+ “dating” site; linked to Facebook

Kik 17+ no age verification; can text with username not
phone number

Voxer 4+ voice messaging
+
More Social Media Sites

Snapchat – 12+ can screenshot before photo is gone

Poke – like snapchat but connected to Facebook

Vine - rated 17+ 6 seconds of video

Whisper – 17+ anonymous posts

Instagram – 13+ site users can view other public profiles that
can have harmful content

ShotsofMe – 12+ promotes selfies with private comments to
user instead of public
+
Other Important Information
Other sites that are concerning:

ooVoo

WhatsApp

MeetMe

Scout
Please Note: Tech savvy teens can “jailbreak” iPhone’s or
“rooting” android phones to lift restrictions of removed apps
+
Cry for help or just venting?

Things will never get better.

There is no hope for me.

There are no solutions to my
problems.

What do I have to look forward to?

I will never be happy again.

The future is empty for me.

I will never get over what happened.

I only see things getting worse in the
future.

I don't see things ever improving.

Everything is going downhill.

There is no point in trying anymore.

I will never get back to the way I
was.

I just want to give up.

Things are hopeless.

It's too late for me.

I feel so hopeless.

There is nothing that I can do to
make things better.
www.suicide.org
+
Statements on the previous slide
need to be taken seriously…

Some children will say they
are simply posting song lyrics.

You can check the song the
lyrics are from at different
websites.
Talk to your child about what
they have posted and contact
any of the resources below:


Suicide Hotline 800-784-2433;
800-273-8255

www.songlyrics.com


www.lyrster.com
Will County Crisis Line 815722-3344

www.elyrics.net

www.lyricsdepot.com
+
How to view Browser History
PC Users


Any browser checks the history file
every time you visit a web page,
which is how it knows how to change
the color of links you have already
visited.
You can access your history file with
most browsers by typing the
command <ctrl>-h.
You can also specify how long to keep
pages in your history file:

Internet Explorer: Tools / Internet
Options / General / History

Mozilla Firefox: Tools / Options /
Privacy / History
On a Mac

This is as simple as entering the
search engine your family uses.

On the top toolbar click History.

You should be able to view the
last several webpages searched
listed by the date.

If you have found this box empty
someone has deleted the
history. You will need to go to
www.ehow.com, for further
instruction.
+
Check Browser History-Alternate
PC Users: C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\History

Here Username is your user name. Find the current location of the History
folder by following these steps.

Open Internet Explorer.

Go to Tools > Internet Options.

In the General Tab, under Browsing history click on Settings.

You should be able to locate the current location of your temporary files
where all your cache files, cookies and history are stored.

Click on view files. That should directly take you to the location of the
Temporary Internet Files.

Go one step up and you should see your History folder.
+
Set Up Parental Controls on PC

To turn on Parental Controls for a standard user account

Open Parental Controls by clicking the Start button , clicking
Control Panel, and then, under User Accounts, clicking Set
up Parental Controls. If you are prompted for an
administrator password or confirmation, type the password
or provide confirmation.

Click the standard user account for which you want to set
Parental Controls.

Under Parental Controls, click On.
+
Set up Restrictions on PC
Once you've turned on Parental Controls for your child's standard user account, you can adjust
the individual settings that you want to control. You can control the following areas:

Web restrictions. You can restrict the websites that children can visit, make sure children only
visit age-appropriate websites, indicate whether you want to allow file downloads, and set up
which content you want the content filters to block and allow. You can also block or allow
specific websites. For more information, see Limit the content that children can view on the
web.

Time limits. You can set time limits to control when children are allowed to log on to the
computer. Time limits prevent children from logging on during the specified hours and, if they
are already logged on, they will be automatically logged off. You can set different logon hours
for every day of the week. For more information, see Control when children can use the
computer.

Games. You can control access to games, choose an age rating level, choose the types of
content you want to block, and decide whether you want to allow or block unrated or specific
games. For more information, see Specify which games children can play.

Allow or block specific programs. You can prevent children from running programs that you
don't want them to run. For more information, see Prevent children from using specific
programs. Found on windows.microsoft.com
+
Parental Controls on a Mac

There are Parental Controls sometimes built into the program
however setting up a child account is simple.

There is a great reference on all of the options the Mac gives
a parent at http://gigaom.com/apple/kid-proofing-a-macwith-parental-controls/

Many of the staff at Martino are well versed with the Mac and
can help answer questions about parental controls if needed.
+
Did you know you can monitor
your child’s texts?

There is software available for purchase to view the text
messages sent to and from a cell phone like
www.mymobilewatchdog.com.

Your mobile phone provider lists the numbers, date and time
of each text message sent from a phone.

You can view the contact on your account online or on your
bill from your mobile phone provider.

If your child is being harassed be advised to print and keep
your records of texts on the phone and paper.

You can file a report with your local police department.
+
Local Law Enforcement

New Lenox Police Department Non-Emergency Phone
Number is 815-485-2500. Email newlenoxpd@newlenox.net

Will County Sheriff Department Non-Emergency Phone
Number is 815-727-8575. To file a report online got to:
http://www.willcosheriff.com/report/

Mokena Police Department Non-Emergency Phone Number
is 708-479-3911. Email admin@mokenapd.com
+
Resources

http://teachdigital.pbworks.com/w/page/19791069/internetsafety

Thoughts on Facebook - Cornell University

All in the Facebook Family: Older Generations Join Social Networks - CNN

100 Awesome Facebook Apps for Productivity and Learning - Select Courses

How to Survive the New Facebook - Mashable

Facebook for Parents - Common Sense Media

10 Privacy Settings All Facebook Users Should Know - AllFacebook.com

http://facebookforeducators.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Facebookfor-Educators.May-15.pdf