Kids First Parents Second guide: Teenagers on social media

KIDS FIRST PARENTS SECOND October 2016 A Parents Guide to Help Avoid Pitfalls Created for Teenagers When Using Social media and Smart Apps

“WHERE FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY MEET”

SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF APPS

Teenagers and Smart Phone Applications In 2015, a Pew Research study showed that up to 75% of teenagers have access to smart phones. Of that group, 33% were using “messaging apps� such as Kik or Whats Up when interacting with other teenagers.

Teenagers interaction with social media tells us that they desire both their freedom and their privacy when they use their smart phones.

When used for the wrong reasons, Smart Phone Apps have the potential for doing harm to one self and to others.

By the Numbers Social Media Apps: In 2015 Teenagers use of social media apps was broken down as follows:

Parents need to understand how apps are being used by teenagers in their interaction in the world social media. Parents need to identify and characterize the apps that their teenager is using to best understand its use and its potential for harm.

For our purposes Kids First Parents Second wants parents to be educated on three basic types of apps:

Vault Apps

provide teenagers information private on their smart phones, private from the watchful eyes of their parents.

Social Messaging Apps like Snap Chat that allow teenagers to post pictures, texts which self destruct and are automatically deleted.

Secret Apps

like Yik Yak which allow teenagers to assume an anonymous persona, allowing them to call, chat or text and remain undetected.

Parents need to understand that the one thing teenagers want most from these apps is the ability to have privacy and interact freely on social media.

From the Desk of the FBI Charlotte

June 20, 2016

FBI WARNING Sextortion Affecting Thousands of U.S. Children Summary Sextortion is a type of online sexual exploitation in which individuals coerce victims into providing sexually explicit images or videos of themselves, often in compliance with offenders’ threats to post the images publicly or send the images to victims’ friends and family. The FBI has seen a significant increase in sextortion activity against children who use the Internet, typically ages 10 to 17, but any age child can become a victim of sextortion.

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Anyone who asks a child to engage in sexually explicit activity online should be reported to a parent, guardian, or law enforcement;

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It is not a crime for a child to send sexually explicit images to someone if they are compelled to do so, so victims should not be afraid to tell law enforcement if they are being sexually exploited;

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Parents should put personal computers in a central location in the home;

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Parents should review and approve apps downloaded to smart phones and mobile devices and monitor activity on those devices;

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Ensure an adult is present and engaged when children communicate via webcam; and Discuss Internet safety with children before they engage in any online activity and maintain those discussions as children become teenagers.

What to do if you believe you are or someone you know is the victim of sextortion: 

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Contact your local law enforcement agency, your local FBI field office (contact information can be found at www.fbi.gov), or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (1-800-the-lost or Cybertipline.org); Do not delete anything before law enforcement is able to review it; and Tell law enforcement everything about the encounters you had online-it may be embarrassing, but it is necessary to find the offender.

THE TWELVE BASIC RULES

Meet Patrick.….

This is who Patrick thought he was texting

This is who Patrick was actually texting

TO AVOID BEING CATFISHED Social Catfish.com has come up with 12 basic rules to watch out for when engaging a stranger on social media.

Catfish Protip: If they seem too good to be true, they probably are. People who catfish others usually make up fake lives so they can be as extravagant as they want to be. It’s difficult for you to verify the information so, be careful if they live an extreme lifestyle.

Catfish Protip: Online scammers and catfish usually have broad profile interests so that they can appeal to as many people as possible. So, if someone doesn’t seem to have an opinion or their interests are very broad, be wary. They may be out to scam someone. Some examples would be them saying that they can get dressed up and go to the opera or ride horses and kick their boots up. Most people don’t have interests that are this broad so, if this seems like a person you’ve met online, be careful.

Catfish Protip: If someone seems to be falling for you and pushing the relationship forward without having talked to you or after just a little contact with you, they’re probably trying to catfish you online. If someone seems to be falling for you and they write and say all of these loving things about you after a very short amount of time. Be careful. This is especially the case if they ask you for money right away.

Catfish Protip: If someone can only talk to you through chat or through email and things ‘keep coming up’ that prevent them from using a phone or from you seeing them in person, there is probably something funny going one. This is also the case if you are able to talk to them and their voice doesn’t match their ethnicity (this isn’t always the case) or their voice seems to change and you start to question if that was the same person you were talking to before. Be cautious.

Catfish Protip: If someone asks for money after only knowing you for a little bit of time, be cautious. You may have been the target the entire time. And if they ask you to send it to someone else for any reason, make sure you stop communication as there is a high possibility that they’re a scammer. If you tell them that you don’t have money, see how fast a catfish will run. And even in some cases, we’ve seen catfish offer money and ask for bank account information. NEVER GIVE YOUR BANK ACCOUNT INFORMATION OUT!

Catfish Protip: Think about it. The likelihood of someone contacting you out of nowhere and starting a romance with you is highly unlikely. So, if anyone is doing this to you, be careful. Also, be on guard if someone says a friend of a friend is trying to connect you two. Go to any contacts and try and verify if that information is correct before moving forward with them.

Catfish Protip: If someone lives in the U.S. but, has really bad grammar like it’s their second language, be aware and don’t be afraid to ask more questions before pursuing a relationship with out seeing or talking to them first.

Catfish Protip: Online dating scams usually consist of a person ‘faking’ their identity so, keep an eye out if their online identity doesn’t look real. People should have contacts, friends and relatives on their social profiles. If they don’t, be open to the fact that the person may be lying. Most people will post pictures of themselves, their friends and will have real interactions with others on their social accounts. If they don’t they’re usually hiding something.

Catfish Protip: Most catfish try and look appealing so they’ll steal pictures of attractive people. The people can be models, movie stars or other famous people. Even famous people from overseas so, don’t let the fact that you don’t recognize someone as being famous fool you.

Catfish Protip: Most catfish that are trying to scam you will make up farfetched lies so that you’ll feel sorry for them. If they do this and then ask for money, be weary.

Catfish Protip: In the end, trust your instincts. Most people that come to us already have a hunch that something isn’t right. If that is you, you may be correct. You know when you have that unsettling feeling. When dating people online, trust your gut.

What your Teenager doesn't want you to learn.

Vault Apps, or Ghost Apps, allow your child to hide images, texts, and videos that they want hidden.

Certain vault apps may be opened simply by pressing a button while others require a code to be open. Vault apps allow the user to hide pictures from prying eyes. Vault apps also allow users to hide apps that may be harmful.

On first glance you may not see the vault app on your teenager’s mobile device. Your teenager can also go on the vault app, tap the menu and go into stealth mode.

To be certain that there is not a vault app on your phone contact the service provider for your phone company. There are easy techniques for displaying all the apps that are on your teenager’s phone.

Burner Apps Burner Apps were mostly designed to help business owners have privacy when talking to customer on their private cell phones. The creators of these apps most likely did not foresee how teenagers would use this sort of technology, just like they may or may not have foreseen how it might be used in other types of illicit behavior.

Some Social Media Apps allow the user to enter and post information anonymously on line. One such app, Yik Yak allows users to post textonly “Yaks,” or messages, of up to 200 characters. The messages have no filter and can be viewed by the 500 Yakkers who are closest to the person who wrote the Yak, as determined by GPS tracking. Users are exposed to – and contributing to – sexually explicit content, abusive language, and personal attacks so severe that schools are starting to block the App on their Wi-Fi.

Teenagers must be educated by their parents PRIOR

to engaging in social media, just like you would educate a child BEFORE they crossed a street.

Teenagers have a false sense that their privacy will not be violated when they engage in social media. Teenagers believe this simply because they are told that their privacy is secure, under the representations made by social media apps like Snap Chat.

Teenagers do not know: 1. That hackers now and in the past have downloaded Snap Chat Pictures and posted them on line.

2. That the pictures they are sending on facebook may include a geo tracking link so that they can be followed or stalked by a stranger.

3. That they could be catfished, meaning that they could be interacting with a person who has assumed another’s gender, age and identity.

4. That they may become victims of sextortion. Teens who post nude or lewd pictures on social media may find themselves extorted by ex boyfriends or girlfriends who seek revenge after a break up. Worse yet, teens might find themselves dealing with another person who threatens to share their nude photo’s online unless certain demands are met.

“Teenagers have a false sense that their privacy will not be violated when they enter the world of social media.”

Investors have poured millions into apps that protect the personal privacy of individuals. Individuals in business may not want to provide their direct phone number to clients. Individuals selling their household goods or wares may have good reason to not to give out their personal information when selling on Craiglist, etc.

Most Apps are neither good or bad, they simply are tools. Parents also have to weigh their teenagers need for privacy with the potential risks the app can provide. So parents simply ask your teenager what is the purpose for this app being on their phone.

If there is a vault app on their phone perhaps it is to protect their information from the prying eyes of a younger brother or sister.

The more educated you become as a parent, the more irate you will be as to the apps that your teenagers are exposed to. What would be the purpose of your teenager having a Kik app so their communications would automatically be deleted and not seen? What would be the purpose of your teenager using a Burner app whose sole purpose is to disguise the user’s identity?

Most important of all: Talk to your teenager.

Understand why and communicate prior to reacting.