Protecting Kids Online - New Internet Safety Video
The Center for Safe Schools is pleased to announce the release of a new Internet safety video: Protecting Kids Online. Produced in Pennsylvania, this 22-minute Internet safety resource speaks to parents and caregivers on topics from understanding the serious repercussion of cyber-bullying to learning how to safeguard our children from online predators.
This new educational video is part of the Protecting Kids Online (PKO) Internet safety initiative sponsored by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime & Delinquency in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Pennsylvania State Police and coordinated by the Center for Safe Schools.
For your convenience, we are making the entire 22-minute video available here. To begin watching the video, simply click on the image below.
Before viewing the video, you are encouraged to first view the Protecting Kids Online (PKO) Video User's Guide (PDF format). The guide provides recommendations on the use of Protecting Kids Online, an educational video on safeguarding children.
NOTE: In order to view the PKO video online, you will need the Adobe Flash Player plug-in. To download the free plug-in, click here to visit the Adobe website.
Schedule a PKO Presentation in Your Area
Now that you have viewed the Protecting Kids Online video, you may be interested in scheduling a PKO Presentation in your area. To locate a law enforcement officer trained in the Protecting Kids Online program, click on the "Locate an instructor" link.
Cyberbullying laws coming?
One in three 12-to-17-year-olds have been victims of cyberbullying, a recent survey found, and the anti-crime group that commissioned it wants something done about it, CNET reports. The organization, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, also found that...
- One in six 6-to-11-year-olds have been cyberbullied.
- 10% of teens and 4% of preteens said they'd been threatened with physical harm online.
- 50% of the teens and 30% of the preteens never told their parents about the cyberbullying.
Fight Crime is urging passage of a bill introduced last February by Rep. John Shimkus, an Illinois Republican, that would provide funding for bullying and harassment prevention programs in schools. PhillyBurbs.com picked up the story, adding that Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett called on schools in his state to take action on cyberbullying. Meanwhile, the Christian Science Monitor cites the view of a sociologist that "social norms intervention" is needed to combat middle-school-level bullying: showing kids that, in fact, bullying is not normal. "Another key is for students to understand that there's peer support for seeking help from adults when bullying takes place," the Monitor reports.
Source: SafeKids.com/NetFamilyNews.org, August 25, 2006 issue
Survey shows teens more wired than ever; nearly nine of ten have Internet access
A survey released on July 27, 2005 by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 87% of those aged 12 to 17 now use the Internet. That amounts to about 21 million youth who use the Internet, up from roughly 17 million when this age group was last surveyed in late 2000. 51% of teenage Internet users say they go online on a daily basis, up from 42% in 2000.
Other findings that will be of interest to all who are involved in Internet safety:
- 45% of teens own a cell phone and 33% are text messaging
- 32% of all teens are using Instant Messaging every day. IM has become a staple of teens' daily Internet diet and is used for a wide array of tasks.
- An average youth between ages 12-17 reports spending 10.3 hours a week with friends doing social activities outside of school and about 7.8 hours talking with friends via technology like the telephone, e-mail, IM, or text messaging.
- 26% of teens who go online from home do so from a private area like a bedroom; 73% of home teen users go online from a computer located in an open family area.
- 21% of online teens say they sent an e-mail, instant or text message to someone they meant to be private but which was forwarded on to others by the recipient.