An online survey conducted by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) was completed by 1,965 students enrolled in grades 7 - 12 to evaluate the rate of sexual harassment occurrences related to their use of social media, SMS texting, e-mail or in person. Among the 1,002 girls surveyed, 56% said they had been sexually harassed at least once during the year, while 40% of the 963 boys surveyed said the same. Of these incidents, only 9% were ever reported.
Social media encompasses many different online community services, the most popular of which is Facebook. Not only do these services enable classmates to connect with each other, but it also opens up your child's information to a world of strangers. In some cases, it also provides those strangers direct access to your child. Gone are the days where parents had to teach their kids to avoid strangers in public. Now they can get to your child right in your own household, without you even knowing it. So how are parents supposed to teach their kids to protect themselves against these dangers when most parents don't use Facebook and similar services themselves? It is much more important now for parents to be aware of their childrens' activities, especially online. Parents must educate themselves on the benefits and dangers of modern communication technologies. A good example of this is to go online and look up common SMS shorthand. This simple step will provide parents with the ability to understand the communications between their children and their online friends. For example, shorthand phrases are used to inform each other when their parent(s) are present, as a warning to change the current topic of discussion or cease the use of inappropriate language. For that matter, shorthand can be used in lieu of profanity.
Another point that parents may not be aware of is the fact that it is actually against the law for a child age 13 or younger to even have a Facebook account. However, it is very easy for a child to lie about his/her age when setting up a new profile. Since most parents are unaware of this law, they continue to allow their children to use Facebook and similar services. The reason for this law is confirmed by the AAUW survey. It is nearly impossible to undo the damage experienced by a child when certain things are posted about them online. In recent years, more and more cases of online bullying are being brought to light. Unfortunately, many of these cases are not reported, and some are only discovered after a child experiences a major break down or even commits suicide.
As parents educate themselves about the dangers their children are exposed to online, they should also learn about the steps they can take to either prevent these types of incidents, or report them to the proper authorities. Even many children who use Facebook and similar services exclusively are unaware that they can block users from sending them messages or posting on their news feed (also known as their Wall on Facebook). Many children are also reluctant to "unfriend" anybody because their friend totals are perceived as badges of honor. They see that as a measure of popularity, so they're quick to friend someone they don't even know, but almost never unfriend anybody. When an attack does occur, the children are not aware that the incident can be reported to their school administrators and/or local authorities. There are laws that these incidents violate and only the authorities can proceed to subpoena the courts to obtain the IP address and contact information of the attacker.
Similar to the issue of safe sex versus abstinence, there is no better preventive action a parent can take than to simply not allow their child to use social media services. If a decision is made to allow the use of such services, then it is vital to make sure that their activities are monitored constantly. For parents that use the "invasion of privacy" argument, it is important to remember that there is no expectation of privacy when it comes to online activity. Every website your child visits, and everything they post online, is saved by your Internet service provider (ISP) AND the website where the content is posted. All social media content is public by default and owned by the company hosting the service, even if the user sets a post as private. So, if all these companies have the right to save that information for their own protection, how can it not be the right of parents to do so for the safety and protection of their own children?
American Association of University Women (AAUW) Press Release:
http://aauw.org/media/pressreleases/crossingtheline_110711.cfm
http://aauw.org/media/pressreleases/crossingtheline_110711.cfm
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