With the world at their fingertips, are they safe? By Sandy Garrett, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Friday, May 29, 2009 Do you know if your child IMs, blogs or chats? Are they on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter? You don't have to be an expert in social media, but its use by children should be on all parents' and caregivers' radar. Children average 39 hours a month online, with about five hours each week socializing. Fifty-five percent have made friends with people they “met” on the Internet. One-third of children say their parents don’t always know what they are looking at while on the web. These findings come from the “Norton Online Living Report 09.” June is Internet safety month. With many children now on summer break and at home with less supervision, now is a good time to talk about online safety. * Children should be reminded to never give out personal information including computer passwords, photos or home addresses and never agree to meet an online friend in person without parental supervision. * Law enforcement officials advise parents to monitor their children’s online usage and to keep the computer in a “public” area of the home where sites being visited can be seen by an adult. * For security purposes, anti-virus software should be installed and computers secured with a firewall. This is the first line of defense against a computer hacker or intruders, but does not protect children from online predators. * Attachments and e-mails from unknown senders should not be opened and children should report any messages that make them feel uncomfortable. * Webcams should be closed and turned off when not in use with an adult present. * Children not only face playground bullies, but also cyberbullies, who send hurtful messages and pictures online. Tell children not to respond to such bullies, save all communications from such persons, block their messages when possible and report them to school or law enforcement authorities if appropriate. While privacy protection settings are in place on the various online sites, experts say that technically nothing online is private. Everyone needs to be smart about what they put online, after all you never know who is looking or what will be done with the information. Tell your children protecting their online reputation should be as important as their “real” reputation. What they post, send and text today could haunt them tomorrow if they are not careful. Oklahoma schools have many safeguards in place including close supervision, Internet filters and software to help protect children who are online while in the classroom. The Internet offers a world of information and entertainment with the click of a mouse, but the majority of a child’s day should never be online. Online time should be balanced with reading, physical and creative activity, and spending time with friends and family. Too much Internet may harm children’s ability to relate and interact with other people, so the Academy of Pediatrics advises children should only be allowed one to two hours a day of mass media exposure. For more information about resources available and recommended by the State Department of Education, please visit our “Internet Safety” page on our Web site . Let’s keep children safe and help them to learn and grow. Read to a child – the benefits last a lifetime! EDITORS: For more information, contact Shelly Hickman, State Department of Education, (405) 521-3371.