Using social network sites is so much fun, and everyone has at least one profile. Sometimes five or six. But no matter how much fun it is, if you aren't careful you could give away more information than you want to or should, leave the wrong impression about who you are and be targeted by cyberharassment, adults posing as teens and identity thieves. It's hard to have fun if you are worried about being safe or harassed.
This blog and my Teenangels (teenangels.org) expert volunteers are devoted to helping you enjoy your time online and not be bothered by jerks, posers, other teens or worse. But remember that, keeping you safe requires a team - you, your friends, your parents, the website and us.
If you ThinkB4UClick, you'll be much safer and run into fewer problems online, whether you are at Yahoo! or another site. This means taking a second before you post something. Have you set the right privacy features for your profile? How have you described yourself? Have you considered which photo to post? Remember that your public posts and photos may be the only thing another member may know about you.
Have you put your best foot forward ("BFF")? (You'll learn more about this as we develop our BFF tips with some of you, my Teenangels and other experts. Style-conscious teens wanted! We can use your help here.) Have you chosen one that is provocative or doing something you wouldn't want made really public? I warns teens that the best way to stay out of trouble at a social networking site is never to post something your "parents, principal or a predator couldn't see." Can your posts withstand the 3P test?
What about the other "P" - police? Many teens aren't thinking when they advertsie on their profile that they are hosting a party with unlimited beer, and also post that they are fifteen. It's amazing that they are surprised when the local police are parked at their front curb. And what about college recruiters, future employers, internship opps, or future boyfriends or girlfrieds? What you post online stays online, forever. Are you willing to live with what you post in these highly competitive situations? Think about it.
Let’s take a minute to talk to other teens about how you can have fun online and still be safe. We all know about the dangers online. Some sound lame, and you may be too hip to pay much attention. It's the "other kids" who are getting hurt. Not teens like you. Right? Wrong! The more you know about safety and privacy, the more time you'll have to enjoy yourself instead of having to fight off creeps!
Parents, and schools are worried about profile sites. We built a special section on WiredSafety.org to answer their questions and make them more comfortable with their teens having a profile at sites we trust. My volunteers at WiredSafety.org and my Teenangels will be helping me answer your questions and help you enjoy cyberspace without being harassed, hurt or worse. Got some time and want to join us? Great!!! Drop me an e-mail at Parry@wiredsafety.org or visit Teenangels.org. Got a question? E-mail us at AskParry@WiredSafety.org ."
It's your Internet. Help make it as fun and safe as you want it to be.
Teen Angels comment on the Cheat Sheet
Hi! We're some of Parry's Teenangels. (Parry just had someone make a "Parry's Angels" animation, like Charlie's Angels, which we think is really fun.) We study and do research for almost a year to qualify as Teenangels. We do presentations and work with big companies, like Yahoo, Oracle, Disney, Microsoft, AOL and Facebook to help keep ourselves, others and our friends safer online. We will be adding our thoughts and safety expertise to Parry's in these blogs. She always told us that we are the experts, even if we don't always agree on how to make sure kids are safer online. We'll share what we think and know with you (and with Parry) here. Let us know what you think and consider joining Teenangels. It's fun and you can get community service for doing things online. How kewl is that!
We noticed that when younger kids (like 12 year old kids) are the ones that always try to act older. They think if they post sexual image or cybersex comments on their profiles, it makes them look older. It just makes hem look young. Older teens would never do this. We are doing a video on this called "What were you thinking." Older popular teens are interviewing the younger ones about what they posted that was stupid online and why they did it. We think that if we show that it is lame, not kewl to post or say these things, the younger kids will be more careful.
When Parry first told us that schools and coaches might be viewing your profiles online, we freaked out. We looked at all of our profiles and our friends' profiles and warned them about whatever could hurt them in the future. Parry always said that whatever you post online stays online forever! She said that when a teen puts a tatoo on their ankle at 14 they may not think about how it will look when they are 70! Yuck! So, think before you click (and post).
Also, we have heard that lots of police departments are checking out MySpace profiles to see which kids are announcing a party with beer, and showing up at their house that night.
Right! And we've worked really hard to learn how to keep ourselves and others safe online. We study gaming safety, cell phone safety, social networking safety, predators, cyberbullies and downloading stuff online. We're happy to share what we know and want to hear what you think. Write us! Visit teenangels.org and also let us know if you have some new chatlingo terms we can add to our translator. BBFN.