In The News

Educate Parents and Youth About Internet Safety – Free Resources Available

More than 25 million young people go online regularly. Unfortunately, some child predators are taking advantage of this fact by approaching youth online with the intent to meet them for a sexual encounter offline. According to the Department of Justice, 1 in 5 children is sexually solicited over the Internet.

Unfortunately, many predators know and use lingo such as “CYO” (See You Online) and “a/s/l” (Age/Sex/Location) used by youth while chatting online to become friendly with them. A national study found that less than 5% of parents are familiar with the shorthand used online by their children. This lack of knowledge leaves many parents unsure about how to talk to youth about online safety.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) partnered with the Ad Council to sponsor an ongoing national multi-media campaign called Help Delete Online Predators. The campaign includes online resources to help parents and public service advertising encouraging families to discuss Internet safety.

NCMEC invites 4-H youth development professionals and extension agents to get involved by running newsletter articles about online safety, distributing publications to parents and youth, holding workshops on internet safety (see www.netsmartz.org for activities and interactive games) or placing links to safety information on 4-H and family education websites.

Free publications about online safety for youth and parents (the first 50 publications are free, minimal fee charged for larger orders) are available from NCMEC in English and Spanish. Internet safety quizzes for youth and adults are available online in print-ready formats.

To learn about chat shorthand and to get tips for parents on how to talk to children about online threats, visit www.cybertipline.com and click on “Online Acronyms” or call 1-800-THE-LOST.

01/11/05