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Zach Adams
Zach Adams is the marketing manager for Craw-Kan Telephone Cooperative. Craw-Kan offers cooperative members security systems, local telephone, long distance, high speed internet, digital cable television, IP television and cellular phone service. Zach can be contacted directly at Craw-Kan (620)724-8235 or by emailing zach@ckt.net.
Communications
2011-07-01 10:51:00
Cyberbullying
Question: I’ve heard the term “cyberbullying” in the news recently. I have a high speed Internet connection that is always on, how can I protect my children online?
Answer: Cyberbullying is the use of technology to support hostile behavior toward individuals online. In short, the schoolyard bully now has the power of the Internet at his or her fingertips. There are several ways you can help protect your children online. One of the easiest ways is to be involved in their online activity. Ask them what they did online today; they may be more forthright than you think. It is also a good idea to keep the computer they use in a common area of the house. This will allow you to better monitor their online activity while helping you stay engaged at the same time. Social media has become very popular and children are quick to pick up on all the latest and greatest trends. Facebook currently holds the crown of all social media and if you don’t already have an account, your child may. One thing many parents may not be aware of is because of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) it is actually against the law for Facebook (and similar sites) to collect personal information about any child under the age of 13. That means if your child is under the age of 13 and has an account; it could be flagged and deleted. This should be taken as serious as any other activity that comes with an age restriction. Facebook also has a ton of privacy settings. By default, many of these are not set with privacy in mind. Giving away seemingly harmless information like birth dates can lead to identify theft, potentially ruining your child’s future credit and even making it difficult to get accepted to certain colleges. Don’t forget to check over all available account setting and/or options for all software and web applications. For instance, when your child searches for something on Google not every result returned is going to be age appropriate. Under the options you’ll find search settings and Google’s SafeSearch filtering. This can be used to block web pages that contain explicit sexual content from appearing in search results. There are several options available to monitor your child’s online safety. However, filters and monitors can often give parents a false sense of security. In the end, the parent is the best line of defense.
 
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