Guide to Internet & Cell Phone Safety

The Dangers of Social Networks // Personal Information – Though many teenagers are savvy enough not to post their last names or street address online, most are not aware of the danger of posting other personal information. MySpace encourages users to list their schools and places of employment so that they can more easily connect with classmates and coworkers.

Another often unintentional source of personal information can be comments made by a user’s friends. Teens may be known by their last name, and friends can post it, making it available to anyone who visits their page.

Finally, many teenagers utilize the site’s “bulletin” feature to spread a mass message to all their friends to announce after school activities or when and where the next party is going to be. This information can be accessed by predators as well as friends. // Predators – The lack of age verification on websites like MySpace allows both teenagers and adults to assume identities that are not their own. For younger teens, stating their age as older will allow them more freedom online because users “over 16” can make their profiles public or private.

As easily as a 14-year-old girl can make herself 18, a 50-year-old man can identify himself as a 19-year-old from the next town. The anonymity of online communication allows a predator to pass himself off as a teenager, adopt the interests of his victim, and then find blog posts that reveal a vulnerable emotional issue he can exploit to earn his victim’s trust. Furthermore, predators come in all types, male and female, as well as young and old.

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