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Teen
Safety on the Information Highway
General
Risks
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Situations
and Behavior That Make You Feel Uncomfortable
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Not everything that can
go wrong in cyberspace necessarily puts you in physical danger.
There are web sites, newsgroups, chat rooms, and other places online
that contain material that could make you feel uncomfortable. It
could be material that’s sexual and/or violent in nature. It could
be material espousing hateful attitudes or discussing activities
that you find repulsive or unpleasant. It really doesn’t matter
what it is. What does matter is that you have the right – and the
tools – to instantly remove yourself from any area where you feel
you shouldn’t be.
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Putting
Yourself in Physical Danger
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The most serious risk
you can face involves the possibility of someone hurting or
exploiting you because of information that you post or someone else
posts about you online or because of something you do or somewhere
you go as a result of what you encounter online. The number of
teens who are molested, abducted, or leave home as a result of
contacts made on the Internet are relatively low, but when it
happens the results can be tragic.
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Giving
Up Privacy or Putting Yourself Or Your Family in Financial
Risk
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The Internet, like so
many other places in this world, is home to people who would try to
take money from you or your family or just pester you with unwelcome
advertising and marketing material. Be especially wary of any “get
rich quick” schemes that promise to help earn you lots of money in
your spare time. If something sounds “too good to be true,” it
probably is.
Not everyone in
cyberspace minds their manners. When you’re online,
especially in chat rooms or bulletin boards, there is a chance that
you’ll get messages that are harassing, demeaning, or just plain
mean. Don’t take it personally. A message that is demeaning
says a lot more about the sender than it does about the person who
gets it. Ironically, even people who are nice in the “real”
world can forget their manners when they go online. The best
thing to do if you encounter messages or people in chat rooms who
are acting that way is to ignore them. Some messages, however, may
constitute harassment, which is a crime under federal law. If
someone sends you messages or images that are obscene, lewd, filthy,
or indecent with the intent to harass, abuse, annoy, or threaten
you, report it to your Internet service provider and the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipline by
calling 1-800-843-5678.
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Hurting
Others and Getting Into Trouble
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Avoid anything that
might hurt people and risk getting yourself into trouble. You need
to respect other people's privacy and avoid taking any actions that
annoy, harass, or hurt other people. You are responsible for your
behavior online.
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