Technology+Report



**Cyber Safety and Literacy Education** By Ing Mu     **Abstract** Internet usage for teens rising to 100% education for students, parents, and teachers on online literacy and safety must be addressed. Providing numerous resources that are available on the internet will create open communication and knowledge to all groups. Parents being more involved and monitoring computer usage at home can increase cyber safety. Educators incorporating cyber literacy into their curriculum will create wiser users making smarter choices. Teens and technology are intertwined today like fish to water. The use of technology for teens has risen astoundingly over the last decade. According to the studies done by Pew Internet & American Life Project 94% of teens have used the internet in 2008 which has risen from 73% in 2000. What is incredible is that in 2008 73% used the internet with broadband at home when in 2000 only about 8% had broadband. This means that teens today have faster and more resources available to them. In 2008 71% of teens had their own cell phones and of that 70% had wireless connection to the internet when in 2000 less than 30% had cell phones without internet connection. With access to the internet when ever and where ever they have real-time information and technology has become a major source of communication and connectivity for teens. In recent report that came out in April 2010 by Pew Internet & American Life Project and Michigan University half of teens text message 50 or more time a day averaging about 1,500 a month, and one third of them text 100 times a day averaging 3,000 texts a month. With faster internet capacity and unlimited access more and more teens are using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to connect. In 2008 58% of online teens had their own profile on these social network sites, 47% had uploaded photos to the internet, 39% shared their own creations online such as artwork, photos, stories, or videos, 14% uploaded videos to the web on sites like YouTube, 28% had blogs, 26% had their own webpage, and 19% had created avatar that interacts with others online. With the rising use of technology it is crucial that educators and parents get involved in learning and teaching cyber safety. Teens today know more about technology but they may lack common sense. Something that they may never do in person they feel differently online such as talking to a stranger or showing provocative pictures to anyone. According to the Pew Internet research, 32% of online teens had been contacted by a stranger, and 23% said they were made scared or uncomfortable by the stranger contact. Educators and parents can teach them to be smart when online or texting friends, educate them to be cautious because once information is on the internet it is for the world, teach them to set their privacy settings on the networking sites to be “friends only” so that they control who looks at their profile, teach them not to put any personal problems they are having on the internet because predators pry on emotional weakness, and teach them to report any harassment or abuse to an adult. Adults can let them know that it’s not their fault that a stranger has contacted them or anyone is bullying them. Parents can also take proactive measures at home to monitor their child’s online activities. Parents can place the computer in a public area of their home such as the den or by the kitchen so that they can keep an eye on him or her. Parents can be more involved by checking their child’s cell phone and computer history web logs to see what kind of sites have been visited. Parents can also install filtering and monitoring software on the computer. Software from such sites as [|www.netnanny.com] or [|www.cyberpatrol.com] can provide password protection and monitor web activities. Parents can also make sure that their child’s profile settings on networking sites are private. With teen internet use reaching to 100% we all, students, educators and parents, need to be educated on how to stay safe on cyber world. Educator can incorporate technology safety and literacy into their curriculum. Parents and students can learn about cyber safety from sites such as iSAFE, CyberSmart, and FBI’s “A Parent Guide to Internet Safety.” There are numerous sites that are committed to making internet safe for all. Keeping the communication open among all groups is the key to using technology in a positive and productive manner. **Resources:** Technology Safety Education sites: Internet Content Rating Association [|www.icra.org] SafeSurf (content rating site) [|www.safesurf.com] Cyberbullying [|http://cyberbullying.org] CyberSmart [|www.cybersmart.org/home] FBI’s “A Parent Guide to Internet Safety” [|www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm] GetNetWise [|www.getnetwise.org] i-SAFE [|www.isafe.org] iKeepSafe [|www.ikeepsafe.org] Kidz Privacy [|www.ftc.gov/kidzprivacy] NetSafeKids [|www.nap.edu/netsafekids] NetSmartz [|www.netsmartz.org] OnGuardOnline.gov [|www.onguardonline.gov] Monitoring software: [|www.softwaretime.com] [|www.safechat.uk.com] [|www.netnanny.com] [|www.cyberpatrol.com] **References** Adelman, H. (2004). Teaching Online Safety. //Voices From the Middle, 11(3),// 17-22. Hitchcock, J. A. (2007). Cyberbullies, Online Predators, and What to Do About Them. //Multimedia & Internet@ Schools, 14(3),// 13-15. Joseph, L. C. (2007). Keeping Safe in Cyberspace. //Multimedia & Internet@ Schools, 14(1),// 17-20. Lenhart, A., Ling, R., Campbell, S., and Purcell, K. (2010). Teens and Mobile Phones. //Pew Internet & American Life Project//. web site: [] Rainie, L. (2008). Online Child Safety and Literacy. //Pew Internet & American Life Project, a project of the Pew Research Center.// web site: []