Cyber Issues Can be Deterred with Parent Involvement

Schools, counselors, teachers and administrators across the country are seeing an increase in what school officials have dubbed “cyber issues.”

Cyber issues are not necessarily crimes, but online problems that students face outside of school. Although the problems happen outside the boundaries of the school building, school officials are often brought in to try and resolve these problems, because they are typically student-to-student incidents.

These problems can range from online bullying to identity theft to being targeted by sexual predators.

“From a parent standpoint, there are tremendous generational gaps—knowledge and technological gaps,” according to Gayle Cicero, the head of school counselors for Anne Arundel County Public Schools.

“One of the challenges we have now as a parent, is how do we stay abreast of the multiple ways this generation is using the cyber world? They are using it in appropriate, fantastic ways. But they are also using it in ways that are not appropriate,” Cicero said.

Modeling

Parents are the go-to for modeling appropriate behaviors. Parents model how to behave at the dinner table, at a party and in public. But Cicero said that most parents don’t necessarily model the kinds of manners children need to see online—simply because youths and parents don’t always use the same technologies.

In addition, often parents aren't even aware of the kinds of technologies their children are using.

Cicero said that by the time a child can read and can get onto the computer by themselves, they can figure out how to use Facebook or Twitter—how to create an account and sign in.

Cicero said that even though school computers block access to inappropriate sites,  students who carry smartphones may have a full data plan, allowing access to Facebook, the Internet and other sites at any time of the day. If a school blocks the school computer from accessing inappropriate sites, it doesn’t necessarily mean that those sites aren’t being accessed inside the confines of the school building.

"This is the challenge," Cicero said."It isn't just a school issue. It is a societal issue."

She noted that in previous generations, parents generally knew who their children were interacting with. Now, a child can have an online friendship with a child on the other coast.

"They can converse about all kinds of things online, suicide, anything really, and parents don't know—and can't get involved," Cicero said.

What schools can and can't do

Cicero said that schools are increasingly becoming involved, even though these episodes occur outside of school. "We can't draw a line and say, 'this is not my problem,'" Cicero said.

Cicero said that each case is looked at individually. "There is no one-size-fits-all solution to these problems," Cicero said, noting that parents are the best first line of defense. 

"Parents of elementary aged students, and even early middle school students,  have to be on top of, not just 'aware' of their children's internet activity, from gaming to websites to social networking sites and to absolutely put rules in place at home for computer internet use and then stick to and enforce the rules on a daily basis," said Broadneck Elementary guidance counselor Kim Baicar.

"Parents should also make sure those same rules that are in place for internet use at home are adhered to when their child is visiting a friend or family member's home," Baicar added.  

County schools spokesman Bob Mosier said he has seen cyber issues thoughout the county. At Jacobsville Elementary in Pasadena, Principal Sharon Herring sent a letter home with students outlining some of the precautions parents should be taking to prevent children from "oversharing" information about themselves online. The letter included these tips:

• Become familiar with the social networking sites your child is using so that you know best how to understand their activities.
• Limit your child’s online “friends” to people they actually know.
• Some social networking sites, chat rooms, and blogs have strong privacy settings. Use those settings to restrict who can access and post on your child’s profile.
• Help your child to know and understand what information (their address, phone number, pictures, etc.) should stay private.
• Let your child know that it’s wrong to create sites, pages, or posts that seem to come from someone else.

Cicero said that as part of their investigations into these problems, they use whatever resources they can, including calling in the police when necessary.

Mosier said that in addition to the one-on-one solutions, the school system is now offering guidance in the form of a free book, "Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids About Being Online," published by the Federal Trade Commission's "OnGuard OnLine" program. To receive a free copy, visit www.onguardonline.gov.