Internet safety message resonates

Sabrina Kooistra
Times Junior Reporter

 

The Internet is a font of information and entertainment. But it can also harbour danger to unwitting individuals.
With that in mind, the Strathmore Youth Club recently held an Internet safety workshop, where about 1,100 students and 100 parents learned about the harsh realities of Internet use and how to be successful and responsible digital citizens.
Social Networking and Online Safety was presented by Paul Davis, who has 27 years of experience in information technology (IT) and is a presenter to the Department of National Defense in Ottawa, Canada Border Services, Alberta RCMP, and schools spanning Canada and the United States.
Davis’ career as a full-time Internet safety specialist skyrocketed when Davis was asked by his daughter’s school to address the topic of why kids get in trouble on the Internet. Davis has since devised an Internet safety program for students in Grades 4-6, in Grades 7-12 and for parents.
Though this message is often met with resistance, Davis urges mature elementary students to eliminate themselves from the social media scene. Statistics from a 2015 survey of American mid-western middle schools concluded that 34.4 per cent of students had been cyber-bullied at some point in their lives. These personal attacks, perpetrated by online creepers, could be proactively avoided by disallowing young children from engaging in activity on social media sites they are prohibited from having an account on.
“My message is very stern, but it’s very effective,” said Davis. “Some kids don’t like it because they know I’ve told them to go home and do the complete opposite of what they think is fine. This is how kids get hurt. So my message to those kids is, be a kid and get on technology when allowed to.”
As a healthy alternative, blogging, coding, downloading educational apps, and programming apps of their own are just some of the ways Davis advises elementary students to just be kids, and then revisit the idea of social media when they are legally allowed to.
“I can’t blame a child because they’re curious, and you have to love a child’s curiosity,” he noted. “But if parents don’t read the rules, we as parents put our children in those positions to get hurt.”
For students in junior and senior high school who are within the acceptable age of social media participation, Davis advises students to take an active role in responsible and accountable Internet activity. With the fear of pornography, sexting, phishers and technological break-ins looming, teens are at a high risk for personal destruction on Internet sites which could be prevented by addressing safe technological practices prior to any incidents.
“Creepers have a wonderful way of telling who the kids are and creating fake accounts to build relationships with them,” said Davis. “(And) I’ve been proving that every day to the shock of parents.”
Addressing the reality of job and career searches for young adults, Davis advises students to be wary of either provocative or profane posts and photos. Though it may seem unfair, profiling occurs on a daily basis. And especially in a small town, personal protectionism on technology is of the utmost importance.
Ultimately, Davis strongly encourages parents to understand and monitor their children’s technology time, and to be aware of the influence technology can have on the lives of their children and themselves.
With ignorance posing as one of the most dangerous roles a parent can take when addressing their child’s Internet usage, Davis advises parents to understand terms and conditions, and to refresh their knowledge of safe Internet practices by doing research and attending presentations yearly.
“It’s a message a person needs to hear probably every year,” said Davis. “Get it from a different perspective, get a police officer to come in and just hear what the stats are, because they’re real. Your children are on [the Internet] every day, so you may want to take an interest in it.”