Online Safety on MySpace and Other Social Networking Sites

Safety Tips for Social Networking

Social Networks or Online Communities have become an integral part of the lives of many teenagers today. There are some real dangers involved, as there are in off-line aspects of a young person’s life. But rather than attempting to deny access and participation in this form of online socializing, we suggest that with some common sense, open, calm dialogue, and simple guidelines, participation in an online community can be a safe and enriching experience. Here are our tips for making this happen (More information about social networking is available by scrolling down this page.):

For Parents:

1. We recommend a minimum age of 16 for participation in on online community. Generally, children younger than 16 are not mature enough to handle the opportunities and challenges of social networking.


2. Begin an open conversation about your teens' social networking experience. Try to establish a context for discussion that is not combative or accusing.


3. Create your own account on MySpace or another social network. Spend some time browsing the network's site. This will give you familiarity with the world that is so essential to your teen(s) and their friends and will facilitate future conversations.


4. If your child has an account, require that they show it to you. Periodically monitor/read it.


5. Set the expectation that only people they know in real life should be on their "friends" list.


6. Know your children's passwords, screen names and account information. This will enable you to view their pages even if they set their profile to "private". (Private profiles are accounts that can only be viewed by thers given explicit permission to view it. This is a double-edged sword, in that it means strangers [like sexual predators] don't have an easy way to learn about or harass the private account owner. However, it also means that without being granted access, parents and other adults in positions of authority or care-giving cannot view the online activity of the owner either.)


7. Remove online privileges if it becomes a problem. This is only as a last resort and keep it mind that a young person can establish an account and access it school, the library, or a friend's house. Clearly, open dialog and trust is best.


8. As another last resort, consider installing keystroke capturing software on your family computer from www.getnetwise.org. Again, this won't deal with your child's using computers away from home.


9. Talk with other parents, with teachers, and other adults who work with kids. Also, check out the links to other helpful websites below.

For Children:

1. Talk with your parents. Let them learn and understand the role of social networking in your life.


2. Never post anything you wouldn't want your parents, teachers, or future employers to see.
   


3. Never post personal information (phone number, E-mail or address) on the web. The same applies for your friends' information. Be aware that information you post could put you at risk of victimization


4. Never meet with anyone you first “met” online and tell your parent if anyone requests a meeting.


5. Only add people as friends if you know then in real life. Set privacy settings so that you have to approve people to be added as a friend.


6. Include your parents and other trusted adults as friends. If your parents do not have an account, give them access to your profile.

What is Social Networking ?

Social Networking is a term used to describe the fairly recent breed of websites, also referred to as online communities. These sites generally enable their subscribers to post a journal and various forms of media content, to generate and maintain relationships with other participants, and to engage in discussions around common interests with others. Some of the most popular social networks are in the U.S. are MySpace, Xanda, LiveJournal, BlackPlanet, MiGente, AsianAvenue, Bolt, Hi5, Facebook, and Friendster.

These sites are immensely popular with teens and young adults and have become an integral part of their lives, much like television was for their parents. Social networks or online communities offer great opportunities for self-expression, relational support, new experiences, helpful information and just plain fun.

What are risks?

Objectionable Content:
On many online communities, users post material that is not appropriate for children or that many parents would find objectionable. This can include obscene language, racist or violent text or images, and a wide range of sexual content including pornography.

Overexposure:
Parents need to be concerned not only with what their children might see and hear, but also what they may present. Teens can make unwise decisions about what they post online. This includes posting pictures of himself or herself or of friends in a sexually provocative or incriminating manner; publishing personal information that sexual predators could use to learn more about a child or their friends; or bragging about exploits (real or made-up) or making threatening and harassing remarks that could have negative consequences.

Contact with predators: Much publicity has been generated around sexual predators (mainly adults) looking for minors to exploit. There are such individuals who frequent online communities that teens use. Sometimes, these adults will pretend to be teens themselves, but often they will be quite clear about their age and intent.

Contact with other inappropriate adults and businesses: Various segments of the sex industry (legal and otherwise) have a presence on social networking sites, often to recruit customers and workers. Minors should not have direct contact with such sex professionals and organizations, but it does happen. In some cases, teens could become victims of sex-trafficking or be persuaded to provide sexually explicit pictures or video for pay.

Source

Social Networks are Dangerous for the Future of Youth

Private information posted on Facebook, Bebo and other such social networks can spoil the future of millions of young people, warns the British Office of Information Commissioner (ICO) which is responsible for ensuring compliance with privacy.


"Many young people send materials online without concern that they were leaving their electronic footprints," said ICO Deputy Commissioner David Smith. "Retribution for that in the future may be too high if the administration of universities or employers using numerous social networks will be find an unsightly information of the person."

According to the Guardian Unlimited, according to the poll conducted ICO, 60% of young people aged 14 to 21 years do not realize that information posted them on the Web itself will remain for many years to come "attached" to their identity. However, 70% did not want their books read in the future potential employer.

Facebook. Social Networks Safety

Social networks such as Facebook now attract millions of users, owing to simple communication and simplicity find new friends. But is all personal information users closed? Heated debates on the subject starts when Facebook made the data available to users of search engines (such as Google and Yahoo!).

Growth of database users Facebook began with a Harvard University in 2004 and so far the number of accounts is 42 million. In theory, users data hidden from the outsiders. Options security systems can hide personal information or the whole account of the people with whom they are in one school or work in one team. This gives more protection to which private data than in many other social networks. But after the Facebook announced the opening of user data for search engines, you can confidently say that the project which was initially used to communicate students completely changed its original purpose and has become a huge online directory.

A study conducted a month ago (august 2007) in the British firm Sophos, specializing in IT security, revealed that many users are very imprudent to access its security and privacy of their personal data. Sophos has created a false account to Facebook and invited to friends 200 users, 41% of which are pleased to have agreed and gave us full access to their data. Some data were so detailed that you can easily determine the identity of the person and guess his passwords. Sophos said that despite the fact that Facebook users gave very flexible system for the protection of personal data, users are doing everything possible to not to use it.

Next cite several examples of how the vulnerability of personal information in social networks account played a joke on its felines owner. Former Inspector General of Police had to reopen the case woman whose purse was stolen in a London nightclub - thieves using her name, found her account on a social networking and took advantage of information is there to pay her credit card.

In July, Oxford University student Alex Hill said that the University was accused of promiscuity and violating all the rules of the academic institution. The reason for the charges became photos stored on his Facebook account. Student Society now advises all pupils to tighten access to their profiles on Facebook, but again many continue to grant access to its accounts to all those who have put themselves in the column University of Oxford.

Last month political resonance was caused by the fact that the 17-year-old daughter Republicans Rudy Giuliani joined the group in Facebook, which supports Democrat Barack Obama. All ended that she had to delete its account.

Social Networks and Security

Now the Internet is actively being developed social networks. People like to stay there, being there for a long hours communicating, finding new/old friends. This is fine, but in my opinion the time had come to think about what we publish on the Internet and imagine what it might lead.

For example, take the site odnoklassniki.ru. Great project has helped to find my classmates and co-workers. There you can post pictures, say where you studied, worked and served. I do not sign up there despite requests from friends, but recently decided to try. I must to said that is very sustains. On the site there is an opportunity to tell all about my friend's. There's enough just to that guy agreed to this. You send him invitation and if he accepted it, everyone can saw your friend and who is your friend's friends. As stated in the adage: "Say me who's your friend and I will say to you who you are." But let us look at this from the other side.

Despite the fact that I have recently replaced my corporate phone, I had twice called strange people, the dialogue was this:
- Hi, it's Mike!
- Who is Mike?
- Now that you do not hear, that's right?
- No. And what surname?
- Well, it's me, Mike!
- What is your surname?
Put the phone.

Many have already heard about telephone frauds. When a man asks to call and presented his friend. For example, parents call and say that their son shot down the right, and you need to drive and take a pledge. And this is only one of the scenarios.

As for the information in fact provide odnoklassniki.ru when allowed to see all your friends? Invaluable! Now you will call and provided the correct last name, or even know biography. But in odnoklassniki.ru good database: Parts military officers, military schools. All this you can see one query. And, for example, that the sample is Military Commissariat do on all graduates of this school year? Find evaded conscription, all his friends to know and make an operation. That's great.

I do not understand why all can see my friends on odnoklassniki.ru. I do not understand at all why people publish this list to your friends in the whole world. This is personal information. I do not want to publish it.

I called various members of advertising agencies by offering something. I asked, and where they learned my phone, and they were told that saw the announcement of my speech on the Internet, a name and place of work is to find a working phone and call-awaited technology.

In the end, reverting to social networks, it is understandable that our relationship with each other is valuable information that we need to preserve and protect, and we take and publish it. We should at least have the right to share this information only elected. At sites with pictures already have such opportunities in the form of access passwords secret and special links.

When the list of my friends for a few days came to 30 people on odnoklassniki.ru, I think over all of this. As a result, I have removed all friends from odnoklassniki.ru for my safety and for their safety. Let my list of friends remain in the head. Moreover, for quick access to the correct person odnoklassniki.ru have a "Favorite" button.

This is my opinion, it may seem to you wrong. Answer a question on the meaning of the entire web to tell their friends and take a decision.

BDV