COMMUNITY COMMENTARY: Seminar to help parents and kids navigate Internet safely
By JUDY FRANCO & LESLIE DAIGLE
THE DAILY PILOT
According to a poll by Market Wise, 65% of high school students admit to unsafe, inappropriate or illegal activities online. The National Teen Survey found that 64% of teens post photos or videos of themselves. And one local resident reported that her 14-year-old daughter sent 3,500 text messages in one month, some including photographs.
Children and teens may be unaware their words and images can receive a large audience.
For many years, the city of Newport Beach has partnered with the Newport-Mesa Unified School District to ensure that community children can grow up in a safe environment.
On Wednesday, Newport Beach Police Department Crime Specialist Andi Querry will host a two-hour meeting to give parents the tools necessary to help kids safely navigate the Internet. The meeting will be in the Vincent Jorgensen Community Room at Mariner’s Library, 1300 Irvine Ave., from 7 to 9 p.m.
The Internet is an anonymous and target-rich environment in which the victimization of children is a growing issue. The number of visitors to MySpace grew from 4.9 million visitors in 2005 to more than 67 million in 2008.
The Internet is a public place where personal profiles release information that can easily be found by anyone, including ill-intentioned people. Local examples of this include images taken during Teen Night at the now-closed Club Platinum. Images of local teenage girls pole dancing are now part of a permanent digital record accessible worldwide. Though seemingly innocent, online gaming can also lure children into a false sense of security as savvy predators groom them to engage in behavior that can have serious consequences. The communication of pedophiles was isolated in the past; but through today’s online communities, their behavior is validated, and they have access to forums that provide strategies on how to further their behavior.
Some questions to consider: Does your child have a social networking profile? Are you equipped to keep up with your child’s online activity? Does your child participate in online gaming? Does he or she communicate with strangers?
If your child uses a computer or a cellphone with Internet access, the April 16 meeting is one that you should not miss.
The city provides resources for a variety of activities within our local schools. The police department teaches the DARE program in the elementary schools and provides a School Resource Officer at the intermediate and high schools of Newport Beach. The cooperation between the Newport Beach Police Department and the Newport-Mesa Unified School District is an example of what can be accomplished by our local agencies when they join together to address the safety of our children.
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