Starting the Conversation About Online Safety - Episode 14

This week on PACERTalks About Bullying, we are sharing tips about how parents can start the conversation about online safety with their child or student.

Transcript

Hey, there. Welcome back to PACER Talks About Bullying. I'm Bailey. Thanks for joining us.

This month, we're talking all about cyberbullying. So in this week's episode, we're going to share a little bit about having the conversation with your child as soon as they start accessing technology, whether it's through a cell phone or a social media account. Teens have always wanted to connect with their peers. Just a generation ago, teens were asking for a phone in their room to connect with their friends. Teens today are still wanting to do that. It just looks a little bit differently as it's through texting and cell phones and social media accounts, gaming websites. Their desire to connect is still there, but it's happening through this new online world.

In this week's video, we're going to talk all about how to have that conversation with your child, and set up some guidelines to make sure that they're safe online. Let's get started.

One great piece of advice to share with your child is that you never really know who is on the other end of a cyber communication. Whether it's through an online chat room or social media, you can never be 100% sure of who you're talking with. So just as you wouldn't share personal information with a stranger in public, like your phone number or your address, make sure to talk about those same guidelines with your child for online, of not sharing their home address or phone number with someone that they've just met.

Another discussion point to bring up is all about passwords. So make sure that they're setting a secure password and make sure that they're not sharing that password with anyone, even a best friend. Talk with your child about whether you'll have access to their password. And if so, how often you'll be checking things, like their e-mail account or social media.

Along with talking about passwords, it's also really important to talk about privacy and sharing media. Look through the different accounts that your child has and determine if those are private or public. Who can see them and what can they see? Maybe their friends can see certain things, whereas the general public can see other things. Also talk about what's okay to share online in regards to pictures and videos and status updates.

Along with this, it's also really important to talk about friends. Who can your child add as friends on their social media accounts or gaming websites? Can they only add people they directly know or is it okay to add a friend of a friend? Along with that, will you and your child be friends on that account? If so, is it simply there for you to monitor their behavior, or is it okay for you to post a picture of the two of you at dinner? Talk those things through so there's expectations set for both of you.

And finally, set up some ground rules. This can include things like what time of day the cell phone or social media or gaming websites can be accessed. Where is the technology that they use held? Is the computer only in your family room or can they bring it up to their bedroom as well? This is great because it sets up some expectations to hold your child accountable to.

And finally, make sure that you talk about cyberbullying. So often, when students experience cyberbullying, they may be scared to tell an adult because they're fearful that the technology will then be taken away or restricted. Let your child know that if they experience cyberbullying, it's not okay, and that you'll be there to support them, not take away the technology that it's happening at, but that together, you can develop a plan to make sure that they're safe online.

And those are some of the tips that you can use as your child starts to access the online world to make sure that they're staying safe. If you want more ideas or information, you can visit our website, pacer.org/bullying. And while that wraps up this week's episode, make sure to join us right back here next week as we continue the conversation about cyberbullying. And remember, when we stand together, no one stands alone. See ya!