Scenario 9;
Jamie has persuaded her parents to let her talk to her friends in an online chat room. Many of the people in the chat room are Jamie's friends, but there are some people she does not know. For several days, she has noticed one of those individuals talking to some of her friends. Now, the person is starting to ask Jamie about herself and what she looks like. Jamie becomes uncomfortable and logs off the chat room. Later that evening, she talks to her parents and mentions the person in the chat room and how it made her feel.
My Thoughts,
Jamie's parents have many options here on how they react and need to be very careful, The first thought of any parent is anger that someone might be threatening your child. This feeling needs to be controlled as the only person in the house they should feel angry with is themselves for not having a detailed conversation about online safety in the first place. They must be sure to support and encourage Jamie as most young people don't talk openly about these subjects and if they made her feel uncomfortable about telling them there would be less of a chance she would tell them in the future. They will need to get as much information as possible and then contact the authorities. The physical threat may not be real and this may just be another teenager but if they are communicating in away that makes someone uncomfortable, this could lead to cyber bulling.
Next they need to hit the reset switch on the internet use in the home. They need to explore some safe online guidelines with her and encourage her to use the internet properly. They will never be able to shut her out from the internet so they need to make her aware. The parents should also spend some time with her learning all there is to know about how she uses the internet. Explain the dangers of not being private and how she can keep herself safe. They might even encourage her to get back into another chat room with her friends, but let her know that they are right there to support and guide her. They could also move the computer to a central location in the home so that they can monitor her activities. Its not so much to spy but rather just to monitor and guide her use of the internet and help her become a great digital citizen.
Please leave your comments or thoughts below.
Thanks and have a great week,
Jeff
Magid, B. (n.d.). Teen safety on the Info Highway. http://www.safekids.com/teen-safety-on-info-highway/
StaySafeOnline.org. (2013). Raising digital citizens. http://staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/for-parents/raising-digital-citizens
StaySafeOnline.org. (2013). Cyberbullying & Harassment. : http://staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/for-parents/cyberbullying-and-harassment
Ribble, Mike.(2011) Digital Citizenship in Schools (2nd ed) Washington, DC. United States of America
Jeff's Blog by Jeff Murrell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Hi Jeff,
ReplyDeleteYour suggests to Jamie's situation are excellent. Seems so common sense sometimes, but we forget that our children now face a different level of threat - one we cannot openly see unless we truly watch! To Jamie, I'd say BRAVO for your actions!
Hi Jannett,
ReplyDeleteIt is very funny how with technology the world has changed. When I was a kid we needed to be in by a certain time as the home was safe. Now with the internet, when in the home and online, children could actually be in more danger. I agree that Jamie did the right thing but there is a lesson here for all parents.
Jeff