The Use and Misuse of

Technology:
Beyond Internet Safety
TOPICS
1. Using Technology
2. Cyber Issues
3. Teacher Involvement
4. Tips and Resources
Using Technology
Using Technology
The Internet has dramatically changed our world and the
way we interact within it.
• Faster communication
• Advanced research techniques
• Up-to-the minute news
• Entertainment
• Online shopping and services
• Financial management
Using Technology
Has the use of technology affected the way our kids
communicate?
“Safety on the social Web is not about technology; it's about
behavior, human relationships - civility, consideration, and
common sense. These are things parents and kids have
been talking about since long before the telephone even,
long before anything we think of as technology.”
– Fox Interactive Media/MySpace Chief Security Officer
Hemanshu (Hemu) Nigam
 Using Technology
Online Behavior
• 80% of students spend several hours each day using
technology.
• 30% of students say e-mail, chat rooms, or instant
messaging is the main way they stay in contact with
their friends.
• 38% of students feel freer to do what they want on the
Internet.
• 31% of students say it is easier to talk with people on
the Internet than in real life.
According to a 2003-2004 i-SAFE survey of 20,000 5th-8th grade students.
 Using Technology

"A kid who is highly active online, coupled

with a parent who is disengaged from these
new media, presents the risk of creating an
intergenerational wedge."

Source: The MacArthur Foundation- http://www.macfound.org/atf/cf/%7BB0386CE3-8B29-4162-

8098-E466FB856794%7D/DML_ETHNOG_WHITEPAPER.PDF
 Using Technology
Risky Behavior Online
• 55% of students admitted giving their personal
information (name, sex, age, etc.) over the
Internet.
• 25% of students believed there was nothing
wrong with chatting with strangers online.
• 10% of students had met someone face-to-face
that they previously met on the Internet.
According to a 2003-2004 i-SAFE survey of 20,000 5th-8th grade students
 Using Technology

Source: http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/7593.pdf
 Using Technology
Nearly one in three (31%)
8-18 year olds say that
“most” of the time when
they are doing homework,
they are also using one
medium such as: watching
TV, texting, listening to
music, etc.

Source: http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/7593.pdf
Using Technology
 Using Technology

For the full report, go to: Rochester Institute of Technology http://www.rrcsei.org/research.html

 Using Technology
Internet Socializing is Not a Bad Thing
“It may look as though kids are wasting a lot of time hanging out
with new media, whether it’s on MySpace or sending instant
messages,” said Mizuko Ito, lead researcher on the study, “Living
and Learning With New Media.”

“But their participation is giving them the technological skills and

literacy they need to succeed in the contemporary world. They’re
learning how to get along with others, how to manage a public
identity, how to create a home page.”

SHS1
According to a study by the MacArthur Foundation. http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/files/report/digitalyouth-
WhitePaper.pdf
Slide 13

SHS1 I can't find these quotes in this article. Is this the correct source?
Samanth H. Simpson, 3/1/2010
Using Technology
Social Networking:
• Kids can practice social skills using technology.
• Because socializing via technology isn't as
immediate as face-to-face interactions, kids have
more time to think about a situation before they
respond.
• This is an opportunity for them to experiment
with greetings, responses, etc.
Using Technology
Social Networking:
• Some examples of focused interaction online
include:
– buddy/friend lists
– moderated themed chat rooms or message
boards
– the opportunity for parents to help a child by
typing or reading along some of the time (for
younger children)
– building skills and confidence that will increase
their independence as they mature
Using Technology
Kids in Ohio are Saying…
• A fifth grade student disclosed that she felt
helpless and hopeless due to bullying in school.
• Another fifth grade student said that she is
receiving creepy emails and it scares her so
much that her mom has to sleep in her room.
• A group of students disclosed that a boy has
been sending naked pictures of himself for a
year and no one had told an adult.
Using Technology
Kids in Ohio are Saying…
• Students, as young as fifth graders, have
disclosed that they have received inappropriate
pictures and texts from older adult they did not
know.
• Kids want to debate, “what is wrong with sexing
and virtual sex?”
• Many students believe that bullying, intimidation
and harassment are normal issues in schools.
Using Technology
Kids in Ohio are Saying…
• What to say or do if they receive a weird, creepy,
mean, inappropriate text or pictures?
• What to do if they are asked to send
inappropriate sexual text or pictures?
• What to do if they receive an inappropriate
“sext” or picture?
 Using Technology
Ohio Statewide Discipline Data

Source: Ohio Department of Education

Cyber Issues
Cyber Issues
Bullying definition from Ohio Department of Education Model School
Policy re: Ohio HIB Law

– Any intentional written, verbal, graphic, or physical act that a student

or group of students exhibited toward another particular student more
than once and the behavior both:
• Causes mental or physical harm to the other
student; and
• Is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that it creates an
intimidating, threatening or abusive educational environment for the
other student.
– Electronically transmitted acts (i.e., through the Internet, a cell phone,
personal digital assistance (PDA) or wireless hand-held device.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON Ohio Anti HIB, MODEL SCHOOL POLICY OR RESPONSIBILITIES
PERTAINING SPECIFICALLY TO PROCEDURES AND RESPONSIBILITIES TO SCHOOLS GO TO:
WWW.ODE.STATE.OH.US
Cyber Issues
What should we be conscious of when it
comes to Cyber Misuse?
1. Personal Safety
2. Internet Predators
3. Cyber Stalking
4. Cyberbullying
5. Sexting
Cyber Issues
Personal Safety

Screen names and

profiles should not
reveal identifying
information.
 Cyber Issues
Internet Predators
Often the Predator: * Remember, 69% of
• Appears familiar teens regularly receive
• Develops trust personal messages
online from people
• Establishes secrecy they don’t know and
• Erodes barriers most of them don’t tell
• Direct intimidation a trusted adult about it.
• Face-to-face meeting

*According to a study from www.cox.com

 Cyber Issues
Cyber Stalking
• A study of stalking by the U.S.
Justice Department's Bureau of
Justice Statistics released January
2009 confirmed that stalking by
texting has become a pervasive
problem.

• The report found that 23 percent

of stalking or harassment victims
reported in 2006 that the stalker
had used some form of cyber
stalking, such as cell phone texting
or email, to harass them.

Cyber stalking – particularly by cell phone – is becoming more common, according to a study.SHS2

SOURCE: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/svus.pdf
Slide 25

SHS2 Is this study from the source listed below?

Samanth H. Simpson, 3/1/2010
Cyber Issues
Cyber Bullying

According to a 2004 i-SAFE survey of 1,500 middle school

students, it was reported that while online:
• 52% said hurtful or angry things to another person.
• 57% had someone say hurtful or angry things to them.
Cyber Issues
Cyber Bullying
Tools
• Instant Messages
• E-mail
• Webpages
• Weblogs
• Cell Phones
 Cyber Issues
Cyber Bullying
• Mother guilty of misdemeanor
charges in cyber bullying in
which girl died. Lori Drew

• Lori Drew was found guilty of

three misdemeanor offenses of
accessing computers without
authorization. However, the
conviction was appealed to a
Megan Meier
higher court and subsequently
overturned.
Cyber Issues
Cyber Bullying
Teens videotape
beating as revenge for
online posts: Victoria
Lindsay was attacked
on March 30, 2008 by
six teenage girls when
she arrived at a friends
home.
Victoria Lindsay
Cyber Issues
Sexting

What is “Sexting”
(Verb)
Texting sexual or vulgar material including
text messages, pictures and videos.
Cyber Issues
Sexting
Ohio girl admits to sending nude cell
phone photos
• A 15-year-old Ohio girl has admitted in
juvenile court to sending inappropriate cell
phone photos of herself.

• The girl entered a plea to admit to one

count of possession of criminal tools in the
Juvenile Division of Licking County
Common Pleas Court in central Ohio.
Cyber Issues
Sexting
Ohio Teen committed
suicide over cell phone
pictures.
• 18-year-old Jesse Logan
took her own life after an
inappropriate picture of
her was passed around by
e-mail.
Cyber Issues
Sexting
What's wrong with sexting?

1. It’s a felony of the 2nd degree.

2. If found guilty, you will have to register as a
sexual offender for 25 years.
3. 90% of cases occur as revenge.
Cyber Issues
Sexting
What's wrong with sexting?
1. If your little brother or sister sent an
inappropriate picture, would that be okay?
2. What about your parents?
3. Don’t have a double standard!
Cyber Issues
Sexting
“I don’t see what the big deal is, it’s my body”
• 75% of teens say sending sexually suggestive
content “can have serious negative
consequences.”
• Yet, 39% have sent or posted suggestive
messages and 20% have sent or posted
nude/suggestive images of themselves.

Source: http://www.stayteen.org/features/sextech.aspx
Cyber Issues
Sexting

The $1,000,000 question is WHY?

• 51% of girls and 18% of boys say it’s…

PRESSURE!
 Cyber Issues
Sexting
Prevention
• Think about the consequences of taking, sending, or forwarding a sexual
picture of someone underage, even if it’s of you. You could get kicked off of
sports teams, face humiliation, lose educational opportunities, and even get in
trouble with the law.
• Never take images of yourself that you wouldn’t want everyone—your
classmates, your teachers, your family, or your employers—to see.
• Before hitting send, remember that you can’t control where this image may
travel. What you send to a boyfriend or girlfriend could easily end up with
their friends, and their friends, and their friends…
• If you forward a sexual picture of someone underage, you are as responsible
for this image as the original sender. You could face child pornography
charges, go to jail, and have to register as a sex offender.
• Report any nude pictures you receive on your cell phone to an adult you
trust. Do not delete the message. Instead, get your parents or guardians,
teachers, and school counselors involved immediately.
SOURCE: http://ncmec.vo.llnwd.net/o15/downloads/special/Sexting_Prevention.pdf
Parent Involvement
Parent Involvement
This is a community problem
Think of organizing a group of allied
professionals, parents and students to work on
what Cyber issues are happening and what
solutions can be created to work on this issues.
Groups may look like Child Abuse MDT teams, U1

DV Task Force.
Slide 39

U1 Cleaned up this last sentence. It said "will look like..." but wasn't very clear.
User, 3/31/2010
 Parent Involvement
Parent-Child Communication Gap
• 54% of parents felt limited in their ability to monitor
and shelter their children from inappropriate material
on the Internet.*

YET
• 37% of students said their parents would disapprove if
they knew what they did, where they went, or with
whom they chatted on the Internet.*

* According to a 2003-2004 i-SAFE survey of 3,000 parents and 20,000 5th-8th grade students
Parent Involvement
Parent Involvement
In addition to talking about safe online communication with your
child, you can extend your understanding and awareness of your
student's online activity if you:
• Learn about how kids are using technology, at least to some
degree.
• Do not diminish the importance of your child's
communication via technology. It's a social lifeline.
Sometimes it's the only way kids communicate with their friends.
• Walk your talk. Take steps to protect your own online privacy
and safety. Be aware of how you use the Internet.
Parent Involvement
• Model the behavior you want your kids to have. Are
you on your mobile or tech devices at inappropriate
times? Set ground rules for yourself and follow
through. Be a good tech role model for your kids.
• Mentor kids: Teach your children, “here’s what I want
you to do, here’s what’s appropriate.” Remind kids that
it is a privilege to have technology and that there are
certain times it won’t be available.
• Set up an agreement with your child about usage,
much the same way they do about setting up driving
contracts with teens.
Parent Involvement
• Mediate: If monitoring shows a real deviation
in the kid’s behavior, say:
“I have noticed that you have not been using your
technology according to our agreement. Here’s
what we can do until you show you can use the
technology in a more responsible way.”
Show them that the negative behavior is
noticed and has consequences.
Tips and Resources
Tips and Resources
Prevention
• Identify stakeholders in your community.
• Assess harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) in your school.
• Train in bullying prevention.

Intervention
• Advocate for consistent and appropriate interventions in HIB situations.
• Identify best practices and model programs.
• Continue efforts over time.
• Include safety planning for targets of HIB.
• Work with law enforcement, school resource officers, PTA and community
members on forming a group to coordinate activities.
Tips and Resources
• Does your district currently have an Anti
Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB)
policy in place? Do you know what your
district’s Authorized User Policy states?

• Who could you partner with to increase

awareness, education , outreach in your
community?
Tips and Resources
Engage Your Community
• Approach harassment, intimidation and bullying with proactive,
educational responses. For example:
– Establish a comprehensive approach to school climate.
– Model a consistent district and community wide response.
– Work with a diverse group of students to create an HIB Web site.
– Encourage your school to develop a comprehensive program to address
digital citizenship which includes an emphasis on cyber safety,
appropriate online behavior and critical thinking skills to make safe online
decisions.
– Familiarize and become competent with Web culture and the way kids
communicate online.
Tips and Resources
Tips for Families
• Have fun being a part of your child’s online experience.
• Take computer classes at your local library.
• Keep the computer where everyone sees the screen.
• Don’t post your personal information and beware of requests for
your personal information online. Talk to your child about what
and what not to post.
• Teach your child how to recognize and avoid predators.
• Report strangers who solicit meetings with any child.
• Report cyber bullying and threats.
• Ask to see a copy of your school policy on HIB.
• Install and operate updated security software.
Tips and Resources
Some Strategies From Other Parents in Ohio:
• Make it a rule that cell phones and the use of
video games are off at night and not taken into
the bedrooms with your child.
• Ask your child to “friend” you on their social
networking site (caution: don’t become a
helicopter parent).
• You set up the password for the social
networking site and you log your child in.
• Finally, No Computers In Bedrooms!
Tips and Resources
The Office of the Ohio Attorney General has partnered
with i-SAFE and Netsmartz. These agencies are dedicated
to educating and empowering youth to safely and
responsibly take control of their Internet experience.
 Tips and Resources
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray is
promoting Cyber Safety through
• Juvenile and Youth Programs provides free programs to school,
law enforcement, students and others on violence prevention.
• Ohio Missing Children’s Clearinghouse makes information about
missing children and adults available to other agencies. Example:
Amber Alert.
• The Identity Theft Unit assists victims of ID Theft.
• The Bureau of Criminal Investigations operates a cyber crime unit
which identifies and investigates cyber crime.
Resources
http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa
http://www.netsmartz.org
http://www.isafe.org
http://www.netfamilynews.org
http://www.childnet-int.org
http://www.fosi.org/cms
http://www.getnetwise.org
http://www.missingkids.com
http://www.safeyouth.org
http://facebookforparents.org
 Thank you for Attending!
For additional information
please contact:
Kathleen Nichols
Ohio Attorney General’s Office
Kathleen.Nichols@OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov