Protecting Your Kids Online

(From Wiredsafety.com)

Technology: The Risks to Your Children by Age

If your children are 8 or under:

Here are some basic guidelines to get started on setting rules for children under 8 years of age to follow when online. Think of these as a “cheat sheet.” Most of the children under 6 are not yet interactive (with the exception of virtual worlds, videos, educational games, YouTube and DS).

They are not yet using messaging, e-mail, text or chat technologies (to their parents' knowledge), without parental supervision or their heavy use of parental controls. This is changing, though, with many younger kids using interactive sites for preteens.

We advise that parents carefully supervise their kids’ use of these sites until they are old enough to understand risks online unless the sites have a safe site or other trusted seal of approval. If your kids are more interactive, use the tips for the next older group below.

8 to 10 Years:

Most are beginning to use interactive technologies, such as messaging, texts and cell phones, and the more precocious may also be trying to use social networking/profile sites, such as Instagram or Facebook, by lying about their age.

Cyberbullying starts to expand at this age. Cell phones are becoming more common in this age group, as are all gaming devices, handheld and laptops. Spyware is typically a real problem at this age too, as they begin to download things and use game cheat and code sites, usually rampant with spyware.

Kiddie hackers start their tricks often during these early years. (And they may include your child or one of his friends.) Keep intruders out with a firewall. And passwords, as with all ages, are the root of all cyber-evil. Choose one that is easy to remember, but hard to guess and is different for each site.

Older Preteens (11 – 12 year olds)

Most in this age range are now using interactive technologies and many have cell phones at this age. All are playing interactive games, some on handheld gaming devices or desktop devices, some on their cell phones or iPods, some on their PCs and some online. Parental controls become trickier with they reach 11 or 12, because they tend to over-block the sites they want and need. The settings become complicated and the fit is rarely right.

They are also entering the prime of their cyberbullying life. Social networks/profile sites are a growing problem at this age. This is the age range is when the trouble usually begins. They want to be “older” and do what they think teens do. That means they are taking risks by the truckload. Sexting (when they send sexually provocative or nude pictures of themselves to others) starts at 12 with some girls. They often lie about their ages on social networks too to get past the age rules.

Early Teens (13 - 15 Years)

Social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr and to a lesser degree, Twitter, along with texting and gaming consume their time and lives. (YouTube is vastly the most popular of these, with more than 78% of teens polled having an account on YouTube.) Parental controls are not effective at this age. Gaming devices and handhelds are being used by most of the younger male teens and they can access the Internet from their palm-tops and gaming devices, often without parents knowing. Risky behaviors and the attraction of 15 megabytes of fame cause many of the younger teens to act out, either because they don’t have the tech safety skills or the judgment to act otherwise.

They are vulnerable, impulsive and often in need of attention, affection and approval. This is when the risk of meeting and inappropriate communications with strangers are the biggest problem. The 13 year olds are at the greatest risk, and most serious cases of sexual exploitation by adult online occur at this age.

They want to act and be seen as older and more mature and are often flattered by the attention of adult men. (Note we are now seeing female Internet sexual predators exploiting young teen boys they meet on interactive game sites.) Luckily, the younger teens tend to fear sexual exploitation and tend to avoid offline meetings. If the young teen is at-risk, they are particularly at-risk to adult predation.

Sex tends to be a big draw at this age. Cyberbullying turns into sexual harassment at this age too. Most cyberbullying-related suicides involve 13-14 year olds, more often than other age groups. It’s a tough time for them. Be understanding and remember back to when we were that age. Technology magnifies these risks, so teach them to exercise care and use good judgment.

Teens 16 Years and Older:

Their offline reputations and future can be easily impacted by what they do and post online. College recruiters, coaches, scholarship committees, employers and sources of recommendations, as well as their high school administrators, can be watching. Texting, Instagramming and social networks rule their existence, along with gaming devices (more for boys than girls in this age, as tween and young teen female gamers move on to other interests).

The risk of Internet sexual predators and everyday cyberbullying decreases, while online sexual harassment attacks, sexting and sextortion (blackmail involving the threat to expose intimate images) increase when romantic interests get involved. The teens, interestingly, spend more time with focused online activities or offline activities and spend less time texting and more calling on cell phones than they had in previous years. Chatlingo and emoticons are out too. (“OMG” and “LOL” are examples of chatlingo.) They may use shortened forms of words when texting or messaging, but they leave chatlingo and emoticons behind them. “They are sooo middle school,” they claim.

Sexting becomes more common at this age, when they are often sexually active and when asked, will share a nude picture with someone they “love” and trust. And this often moves off of cell phones to webcams and other digital imaging devices to share in other ways.

Colleges, jobs, scholarships, awards, team selections and rankings are all more important than ever at this age. (And, yes, colleges are looking.)What they post online stays online forever, in one form or another. All bets are off here. If they aren't ready by 16, they will never be ready. It's time to take off the training wheels and be around with the first aid kit when they take the inevitable spill. Good luck! You'll need it.