Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers 105 Kids interact online with friends, family and sometimes strangers. While most of these interactions are positive, sometimes the internet can lead to negative interactions with others: sexual exploitation and cyberbullying. Children and online exploitation While children are online they could come into contact with people who want to exploit them. Certain people go online in an attempt to manipulate or abuse young people. The exploiters can even be teenagers or young adults; they are not always the stereotypical older man. Most of online activities are not harmful when you take the right precautions, but the following could bring your children into contact with people who want to exploit them: • Online chatting • Photo sharing • Webcams • Sexting • Online gaming • Social networking websites The signs Your child may begin to show signs that they are having problems online, like withdrawal, spending extended periods of time on the computer, or suddenly staying away from the computer. People who want to exploit your kids online may try to win them over by giving them lots of attention, compliments or gifts.They are sometimes patient and willing to work at gaining your kids trust for weeks or even months. Others may use threats or claim that they are in an emergency to convince your children to cooperate. Some are teenagers, and others may pose as teenagers online and develop a "friendship" with your child with the goal of meeting them for sexual purposes. Some will slowly and gradually introduce sexual content into conversations, while others work faster, introducing sexual content very quickly. How to stay safe When your children are online, remind them: • Never to give out or post any personal information, like their address, phone number, password or photograph. It is surprisingly easy for strangers, or other young people your children have met online, to track down your children even with the smallest amount of information. • To use impersonal nicknames that do not give away any identifying information in chat programs and other sites. • To think about their online reputation -- what they say and do online can reveal a lot about them and can have an impact on how others view them. Acting before they think might give others the wrong impression or attract unwanted attention. • If your child is talking to people he/she doesn't know offline (for example, someone she only knows through an online game), use a voicemask so others don't know her age or gender. • Not to believe everything they're told. They have no way of knowing who is telling the truth on the Internet. • If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. continued on page 107... ONLINE INTERACTIONS AND “NETIQUETTE” Fast facts: Teenagers are the most common victims of manipulation and abuse online. "Sexting" is text messaging sexual messages.
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