ScreenRetriever’s Online Safety Blog
Facebook Wants Your Children, But What Are The Risks?
The buzz around Facebook a couple of months ago was about its pending IPO. Then the buzz changed to disappointment when the IPO didn’t meet expectations. Today, the buzz about Facebook is its desire to allow all children access to Facebook despite privacy concerns. To make this happen, Facebook is apparently looking into different safety options for younger users. Unfortunately, in the wake of its disappointing IPO results, this seems an obvious ploy to garner an added revenue stream, namely your children. Facebook has been spending lobbying dollars in Washington, D.C., to change the C.O.P.P.A (Child Online...
read more7 Tips for Making Sure Your Kids Are Behaving Safely and Appropriately Online This Summer
7 Tips To Making Sure Your Kids Are Behaving Safely and Appropriately: With school ending and summer vacation approaching quickly, children are likely to have more idle time on their hands to explore the internet. As wonderful as the internet can be, there are also dangers that parents and kids need to be aware of. Take time to talk to your children about online safety and online behavior before summer begins. 1. Have your kids read and sign the Internet Safety and Behavior Guide. 2. Educate yourself about the online risks and internet misuse. Monitor your child, tween or teen’s...
read moreParenting Online – Our Plugged-In Generation
Parents would never bring their children into the heart of a major city and leave them unattended, yet every time a child sits down at the computer they enter a virtual, unregulated, border-less world where they can engage with anyone around the world. Are parents paying attention to what their children are doing online? According to a recent study, parents do want to know what’s happening in their child’s Facebook world. Some parents friend their child, but many parents are secretly monitoring their children’s social networking accounts, such as Facebook. Parents should be monitoring their...
read moreReaching a Healthy Balanced Life in Our Computer-Driven World
Reaching a Healthy Balanced Life that Includes Computers/Smartphones Do you ever worry that your child is on the computer when they should be outside shooting hoops, or they prefer to go on Facebook instead of doing a family activity? You’d like to have a conversation on the way to school, but your child is texting incessantly? Kids need a healthy balanced life consisting of time with family, getting an education, spending time with friends, playing sports/ exercising, getting adequate sleep and then using devices for entertainment. Unfortunately, because of unlimited access to computers, cell phones and...
read moreSexting – A Growing National Problem in Today’s Tween/Teen World!
The tween and teen years are naturally full of social angst, especially with regard to boy-girl relationships. Today’s internet-mobile device way of communicating has increased the complexity of today’s teen relationships. In previous generations notes were passed in the classroom to let a boy or girl know you like them. Today’s teens are being pressured to sext, by sending explicit sexual messages or nude or semi-nude pictures. Concern over losing a relationship by not complying and sending a requested “nude” image may propel a tween or teen into hitting the send button and down a road of long term...
read moreAnother Teen Facebook “Insult” Page Rears It’s Ugly Head!
Yet Another Facebook Hate Page Recently another Facebook cyberbullying page created solely to insult other kids reared it’s ugly head. Older pages like “Whimsical Girls of FBISD”, a page where students bashed other students that included a naughty list and a want to be naughty list, and “Evanston Rats” were deactivated. Now the latest of these, “SouthRiver Insults”, was also taken down by Facebook after pressure from parents. The comments on these pages could make your hair curl. The harm these pages can cause can be enormous and long lasting, way beyond the page deactivation date. Hiding behind...
read moreOnline Predators. Should You Worry?
Your teen comes home from school and goes up to her bedroom, closes the door and goes online. You worry who he or she may be talking to online. You’re not alone. One of the biggest fears that parents have when kids go online is online predators, especially since more than 40% of kids have computers in their bedrooms with webcams. The good news is that your child actually becoming the victim of an online predator is unlikely. The bad news is that “online predators are a threat everywhere”, and are working hard to engage children online. Predators aren’t scary looking and don’t stand out. They look like...
read moreYou Think Your Teen is Sleeping – Think Again!
Computers and Cellphones Are Keeping Kids Awake At Night It’s 1 a.m. and Sara wakes to the sound of her vibrating cellphone after a friend sent a text. At 2 a.m. Matt is chatting with his girl friend on Skype. At 6:30a.m.they both wake to the sound of their alarm clocks because it’s a school day. They stumble out of bed bleary eyed and drag themselves to school. While in history class, Sara doses off. Matt rear ends someone at a stop light because he’s not as alert as he needs to be. Fortunately, no one is hurt. This scenario is becoming an all too common problem for tweens/teens suffering from sleep...
read moreVitriolic Comments Explode Online After Death of Young Girl! Cyberbullying Can Be Stopped!
Parents Need to Monitor For Cyber-bullying Amanda Cummings, 15 years old, stepped in front of a moving bus a few days after Christmas. She was found with a suicide note. Soon after, mean, ugly, disparaging comments were posted on sites like Facebook and 4chan, while she was in the hospital in a coma and after her death. One cruel comment said: ‘Bus was cummin’ Bitch was watchin’ Oh hurry Amanda Your bus cummin.’ What kind of world do we live in? Where are the parents of these hateful, cyber-bullying, mean spirited kids. Would a child that attended a funeral ever display such wretched behavior...
read moreMean Behavior Online/Offline – Say No to "Reality" Shows!
Cyberbullying? Sexting? What Kids Are Exposed to Offline/Offline Affects Their Bahavior Respectful behavior both online, and offline begins at home. Say NO to “reality” shows that depict mean, crude, aggressive, high drama, and bullying behavior. Kids that are exposed to these shows believe they reflect the real world. What they see, and learn from these shows they often carry into their every-day-world, and the offline world. Reality Shows Have Negative Affects A recent Girl Scout study of 1100 girls corroborates the negative effects these shows are having on girls. All the girls in the study said that...
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