Your Guide to Understanding Child Internet Safety Terms
Gain awareness by understanding these common Internet Safety terms
Internet Predator
- An adult who uses the Internet to exploit children.
- It is usually for a sexual purpose.
- They frequent chat rooms and social networking sites looking for children they consider an easy target.
- Targets boys and girls of all ages.
- Once they have found their target, they start the "grooming" process.
Child "Grooming"
- The process of manipulating a child and befriending them in order to draw them into a sexual relationship.
- Includes praising the child, giving them money and/or gifts, showing them sexual images, touching them and seeing how they will react, harassment, threats, and any other aggressive behavior.
- Can involve grooming the parent by gaining their confidence.
- A Federal offense.
Chat Rooms
- A place where people go to communicate by sending text messages.
- The user can choose a "shared interest" room.
- Used for talking with multiple people, although, private chats are available.
- Chat rooms may or may not be monitored.
- Some messaging services allow users to exchange photos, often sexual, which they may be prosecuted for.
- Users also choose chat rooms to experience cybersex.
- Predators frequent these chat rooms looking for their prey.
- The social identity that we use for online communication.
- Real names can be used or we can remain anonymous.
- May be stolen by other users.
- Can follow us around for a long time, so protect it.
- An online service or site for people to interact and share information and interests.
- A place to connect with friends.
- Users can interact with email or instant messaging.
- Uses profiles with privacy controls.
- Can be used in personal promotion.
- Increasing in popularity as a great place for business promotion.
- Harming other people through use of the Internet.
- Involves instant messaging, email, chat rooms, web sites, forums, or digital messages.
- Warning signs include: withdrawal from family and social activities, child is often anxious or sad, declining academic performance, and being upset after being online or using their cell phone.
This post first appeared on Keep Our Children Safe Online - Stop Internet Pred, please read the originial post: here
