fact sheet 5Tips for parents to help young people to be safe online
Today’s digital culture lends new meaning to the advice, “don’t talk to strangers”. Every day, young
people take risks by talking to strangers online through social networking sites like MySpace, instant
messaging, or ‘cam2cam’ visual chat. Social networking sites are made up of profiles connected by links
to friends’ profiles. These are personalised to express each person’s interests, tastes and values. Music,
photos, videos and layouts are used to personalise each profile. These sites, and communication tools
like instant messaging, appeal to young people as they are “full-time always-on intimate communities”
(Boyd 2006).
Registration on sites hosted in the US, which are subject to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection
Act, stipulates that the user must be over 14 to post a profile, but many young people ignore this by
inventing ages to avoid the need for parental consent for under 14s. Young people rarely choose to set
their profiles to private as they want to be visible to other young people, not just their friends. Potential
online predators don’t concern most young people, as they consider these spaces to be their own (Boyd
2006). This leaves them vulnerable to older site members who they may not be equipped to deal with
emotionally or physically.
The internet has also become popular with sexual predators, as it provides easy access to children
and young people and a reduced risk of being identified. It allows offenders to remain anonymous and
misrepresent their identity and intent, leading a child to think they are talking with another child, a trusted
friend or a parental figure. Adults can gather information about a child or young person until they get the
chance to talk with them in a private chat room or by phone, ultimately arranging to meet in person.
This is an area in which children and young people may take unnecessary risks. Young people need
to keep their safety in mind when using new technologies. The best